The historic face of hunting with hounds changed forever at midnight last night after legal challenges opposing a ban on the tradition were thrown out of court. Scores of hunts in Worcestershire are determined to still meet and have promised to turn out en masse tomorrow, but what is the realistic future of the controversial sport?

MUCH of Worcestershire's rural community has been rocked by the news that, despite their vehement opposition, the hugely controversial Hunting Act has finally come into effect.

Anti-blood sports campaigners are jubilant that after eight years of political and legal wrangling, they have finally won their fight.

The Act, which many pro-hunters have blasted as being complex and difficult to interpret, outlaws fox hunting, deer hunting and hare coursing with dogs - putting a stop to traditions that have become a way of life for hundreds of county residents for decades.

So what is the future for this ancient activity?

It appears most of the hunting fraternity are not prepared to just lie down and

admit defeat.

In fact, many hunts are planning to meet as usual, with what are expected to be the biggest turnouts ever seen tomorrow - despite Wednesday's failed attempt by the Countryside Alliance to overturn the ban.

Now the CA, which was also refused permission to take the case to the House of Lords, has vowed to petition the Law Lords for a hearing - the highest court in the land.

On the surface, the future of hunting is looking doubtful, but that does not curtail supporters' beliefs that there is still a chance the ban will be overturned.

Catherine Hurley, of Croome Hunt Supporters' Club, said: "We are still optimistic for the next round in our battle.

"In Croome people are very devastated as we are a strong hunting community and there's disbelief that this is happening.

"But we are seeing more people than ever coming out to support us and we are not going away.

"We are going to carry on legal hunting and refuse to down tools. We are saying to the politicians: 'You can't get rid of us'."

She emphasised that the meet of the Croome and West Warwickshire hunt tomorrow would be legal and following the guidelines stated in a new 43-page Hunting Handbook published by the Alliance.

Will Kerton, of the Worcestershire Hunt, added: "This is not the Government acting to stop something they think is wrong, but a class war and they want to get rid of the people who hunt.

"This judgement shows that our laws are archaic and now it's not just about hunting but about the state of this country and its constitution.

"But we are not giving up, we will be having meets, wearing the same clothes and doing what we have always done."

Some have warned the ban could see job losses, and Wendy Evans, of the Worcestershire Hunt, said it could also jeopardise the future of horses and hounds.

"We are simple farmers and tradesmen who save a lot of money over the year to be able to go out and hunt but if we can't do that, then what will happen to our hounds and horses?

"The future is an unknown quantity and could have a massive impact on the farming community."

The CA also claims the police are too stretched to be able to effectively impose the law, which could spark fears among urban areas that the ban will see officers taken off the city's streets to spend time policing hunts.

West Mercia Constabulary remain tight-lipped, but warned legal action would be taken if anyone defied the new law.

A spokesman said: "Enforcement of this legislation will be the subject of ongoing planning and review but we do not propose to discuss our operational policing tactics.

"We can confirm we will enforce legislation to uphold the law, we will protect public safety and we also recognise the rights to peaceful and legal protest where appropriate."

For animal welfare groups, the future is looking very bright and they hope the CA will fail at its next hurdle

A Worcestershire RSPCA spokesman said: "The CA must now accept the outcome of the democratic process that hunting is cruel and unnecessary and that the Hunting Act is a perfectly valid piece of legislation.

"It would be better off instructing its members that they are duty bound to abide by the new law, rather than wasting money mounting futile challenges in the courts."

But a regional CA spokesman said: "The British public have listened to the arguments and can see that a ban has no animal welfare benefits - the only people not prepared to listen are the bigoted Labour politicians who forced through the Act.

"The Act is an unjust, unenforceable and unworkable piece of legislation and will not stand the test of time."

So will hunts eventually be forced to give up, or maybe they'll win their next fight, and if not, will police turn a blind eye and let them get away with illegal hunting anyway? It seems only time will tell.