There are few issues as divisive as fox hunting.

Those who take part in the pursuit say it is vital to their way of life as foxes are vermin and have to be culled. They also point out that whole communities rely on the hunt for their survival.

The anti-hunt brigade says that there can be no justification for dogs to be used to kill foxes when there are more humane methods available. They say it is a blood sport, not a necessity.

Whichever side of the debate you take, one of the interesting things to arise from yesterday's Boxing Day meet in Lewes is the type of people who went along.

The hunting fraternity is often seen as upper class and elitist while protesters are viewed as students or bleeding hearts with nothing better to do.

Yesterday's hunt went a long way to eliminating these stereotypes and shows how complex the debate is.

It is not just a matter of town versus country - human rights and tradition were highlighted as much as animal rights and modernisation.

Whatever the Government decides to do, the time has come to stop fudging.

An outright ban will provoke great anger as will keeping things as they are. A third way, which asks hunts to prove that they provide the best way of keeping the fox population down, is also open to discretion and will lead to many more rows.

But despite the need for new laws so people on both sides know exactly what the future holds, the chances are that this time next year the same debate will be raging.