HUNTING enthusiasts in North Yorkshire were out to see the traditional New Year's Day meet on the day the county was finally declared free of foot and mouth disease.

Riders and hounds from the Derwent Hunt met in Thornton-le-Dale, although no actual hunting took place.

Final permission for Derwent members to hunt again is expected from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) at the end of this week.

Despite the Arctic conditions sweeping the county, there was a good turnout from local people who gathered to watch the traditional meet.

Sarah Morley, the secretary of the Derwent Hunt, said hunting was a tradition that was part of the landscape, and people did not want to see it go.

She said: "I think people are even keener to see us now because there has been no hunting for almost a year.

"It has made them realise what it would be like without us.

"There was a good show of people from the village who turned up, which was nice, even though it was so cold."

The hunt gathered at Thornton Hall at 11am before riding through the village.

John Cottingham, joint master of Derwent Hunt, said: "We were not hunting because of the DEFRA restrictions still in place, so really it was for the public, to show that we are still about. It is always quite a spectacle, with local people turning out to see us.

"As soon as we are allowed to hunt, which should be at the end of this week, all being well, then we will be out.

"The farmers are our first concern and as long as they will let us come, then we will."

A spokeswoman for DEFRA said a temporary system of permits was in place to monitor hunting in districts free from foot and mouth.

She said: "We will be keeping a check on who is going where so we can monitor movement and make sure we don't get a recurrence of the disease."

Meanwhile, anxious farmers across the country say they intend to launch a New Year war on the rural fox population, in an effort to radically reduce numbers of the animals before the spring. Union chiefs in Wales say the ban on hunting as a result of foot and mouth has seen the number of foxes in the countryside explode.

Allan Morris, of the Farmers' Union of Wales, said: "In some cases, farmers who lost six or seven lambs to foxes have seen the numbers they lose jump to between 35 and 40.

"If radical action is not taken to reduce the numbers in the New Year, then there will be hundreds of lambs killed this spring."

Updated: 10:32 Wednesday, January 02, 2002