An NOP poll for the Countryside Alliance has found the nation to be evenly split over calls for a fox hunting ban.

Forty eight per cent back a ban, 23 per cent want the government to seek a compromise and 25 per cent believe legislation should be dropped. Peers and MPs have written to rural affairs secretary Margaret Beckett demanding an inquiry by Lord Burns, who headed an earlier hunting inquiry, to broker a compromise deal.

Forum Response: RSPCA

Phyllis Campbell-McRae, spokesman for Campaigning to Protect Hunted Animals at the RSPCA, told ePolitix.com: "When given three options, a ban on hunting has always come out as the most popular option. Despite the fact that those polled were given three options rather than two, a ban received significantly more support than either of the other two options."Where people have been given a straight choice between supporting or opposing a ban on hunting there has always been a significant majority in favour of a ban.

"The notion of compromise is a red herring where hunting is concerned. It is human nature to look for middle ground, but there can be no compromise on the cruelty of hunting. Licensed hunting means licensed cruelty."

Forum Response: Countryside Alliance

Simon Hart, director of the campaign for hunting at the Countryside Alliance, told ePolitix.com: "Opponents of hunting have consistently claimed that their mandate for a ban is based on overwhelming public opposition to hunting. This poll shows that the public do not feel that a ban is needed or justified.

"The results show that the public have seen through the deliberately misleading propaganda peddled by opponents of hunting to take the view that providing it is properly regulated and accountable, then hunting should be allowed to continue".