SUPPORTERS have welcomed a government announcement setting a date for hunting with dogs to resume in Dorset.

They say the nationwide ban on hunting, imposed as part of foot and mouth epidemic restrictions, has meant an uncertain future for many local hunts, hitting a major source of business in the rural economy.

But the decision has infuriated anti-hunt campaigners, who claim the impact has been minimal.

The risk-assessment says hunting should now resume on December 17.

Alastair Jackson, the director of the Masters of the Foxhounds Association, has welcomed the decision, which has been pending since the assessment was finished in September.

Mr Jackson, whose family support the Cattistock Hunt, near Dorchester, said: "To have a date when hunting can begin again will have an immediate effect on the people who live in the countryside and those who make their living from it.

"Everybody connected with hunting will now be working towards the date when we can begin again."

He added: "We will be ensuring any conditions in the report can be met, then we will be looking to set our own guidelines which may be more rigorous.

"Finally we will be talking with local landowners who have hunts on their land to make sure we are working as closely as we can."

Dorset farmers who let local hunts use their land have welcomed the decision.

Farmer Mark Pearson, who is also the Master of the South Dorset Fox Hunt, which uses land stretching from Weymouth to Sherborne, said the announcement was long overdue.

He said: "It has been frustrating waiting for a date to be set, but now that it has, we are all looking forward."

Douglas Batchelor, the chairman of the Campaign to Protect Hunted Animals, said the effect of the ban had been positive.

Mr Batchelor said: "The economic impact of that ban has been insignificant compared to foot and mouth."

He added that the government should honour a commitment to deal with the issue of hunting within the current parliamentary term.