George Saloschin, 80.
 
“I’ve been hunting with the Beaufort since 1953. My mother was a master of the hunt in Bavaria, but it was a disaster. The farmers threw stones at us. As far as I know, the only place that hunting was made an illegal activity was in Germany, under Hermann Göring, shortly after Hitler came along. They did it as a sop to farmers, it was seen as a class issue.
 
“The idea of a ban is preposterous. It’s class-hatred. The majority of MP’s are townies, not rural people. They don’t realise to what extent the hunt influences rural life and society. The Beaufort hunt is one of the last hunts with a feudal continuity of mastership. We consider ourselves one of the smartest hunts in the country. We hunt in Blue and Buff, which are the colours of the Plantagenets, the ancestors of the Duke of Beaufort.
 
“The cruelty question is absolute nonsense. What better ways are there of keeping foxes down? They either escape, or the hunts catch them and tear them to pieces.”