Many of Britain's hunters are expected to flout the ban within days of it coming into force this week.

The majority of hunts in England and Wales say they will not defy the law if the ban begins at midnight on Thursday.

But some say they intend to openly defy the law in order to get arrested.

"There will probably be arrests on Friday and court appearances as soon as Monday," a source in the hunting community told the Guardian.

"The only way that this legislation is going to be defeated is if there is massive covert and overt defiance, like with the poll tax."

Home secretary Charles Clarke said that policing of the ban was a matter for chief constables, but added: "If you look at the priorities police have to deal with – dealing with drugs, people trafficking, crime, all kinds of issues – I don't expect foxhunting to be very high on the priorities of any particular police force."