HUNT members and anti-bloodsports protesters are bracing themselves for a new season.

This season, which begins on November 5, will be the first full season since the hunting ban was introduced on February 18 to make hunting with dogs a criminal offence.

South Dorset huntmaster Rory Innes said: "We will continue hunting, but we will do so within the law.

"We will carry out trail hunts where we use a liquid fox scent. We then have someone on foot leave a trail for the hounds to follow. It can be fast and furious and may last for 30 seconds or 30 minutes.

"The ban has certainly hit us hard and we have had to make cutbacks. We have had to make half of our staff seasonal workers and we have also sold some of our hounds abroad.

"All we can do is continue as best we can and wait to see if the ban is overturned."

The Cattistock Hunt was plunged into controversy days before the start of the new season when the International Fund for Animal Welfare claimed it had pictures showing a falconer it claimed was employed by the hunt using a falcon on land at Wraxall.

The group said it showed some hunts were using birds of prey to kill because of a legal loophole. But it admitted the bird it photographed did not kill a fox or look big enough to be able to.

Huntmasters from the Cattistock Hunt have said their hunts are within the law and they have used falcons, but the birds back up their trail hunting and provide them with extra legal protection if they are taken out.

Hunts have been going out since the ban was introduced earlier this year. The ban does not cover exercising hounds, chasing a scent trail and flushing out foxes to be shot.

Dorset Anti Blood Sports spokesman Neil Buckoke said: "The ban isn't effective as groups can go along and simply say a fox turned up unexpectedly.

"We have been going along with cameras to film the hunts but this hasn't proved effective as when the police do turn up it is usually too late.

"On top of that I didn't join a group like this just to film animals being killed."

He said groups may put their cameras away and go back to sabotage techniques.

Dorchester Police Inspector Les Fry said: "We will deal with any offences as we are made aware of them."