THE Government will be guilty of encouraging cruelty to animals if it fails to drop legislation banning hunting with hounds after a public hearing next month, claims a Worcestershire pro-hunt campaigner.

Bob Brierley said he was confident the Government public hearing into hunting with dogs would prove that it was the most humane way of controlling foxes.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs yesterday announced its intention to hold the three-day hearing at Parliament's new Portcullis House from Monday, September 9.

During the hearing, a number of experts and campaign groups - such as the Countryside Alliance, the Middle Way Group and the Campaign for the Protection of Hunted Animals - will be giving evidence.

Mr Brierley said he was confident the hearings would prove hunting was more humane than other methods of control and said the public agreed other methods would increase the amount of suffering felt by foxes.

"The public now knows that not a single fox will be saved if hunting with dogs is banned," he said.

"I hope that after the hearing, if the Government is still for legislation to ban hunting, someone will take legal action against it for encouraging cruelty."

He said 50 per cent of the public were behind hunting and speculated that after "all the facts" came out during the hearing, the Government would be forced to allow hunting in some form or another.

All hearings will be broadcast live on the Ukonline website for the following two months and transcripts will be available electronically.

Rural affairs Minister Alun Michael, who will chair the hearings, said it demonstrated the Government's commitment to reach a conclusion on the highly contentious issue.

"The consultation process will help me in drawing up legislation," he said.

"The more contentious the issue, the more important it is for a democratic society to search for common ground and approach legislation on principals and logic."