An anti-fox hunting group has called out the British Hound Sports Association for its upcoming National Trail Hunting Day.

Dubbed "Smokescreen Saturday" by the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA), an event is scheduled for Saturday, September 14, at Little Coxwell, near Faringdon.

It is designed to "present a façade of lawfulness to the widespread illegal hunting still occurring today in England and Wales," HSA said.

The day will see hunters gather at 30 locations nationwide, where a scent trail will be laid for hounds in front of an audience.

HSA said the intention is to present trail hunting as a "legitimate activity".

The organisation argues the event is arranged to mask the reality of trail hunting - an activity already banned in Scotland, which HSA said is used as a "smokescreen to disguise illegal hunting".

However, a spokesperson for the British Hound Sports Association said: “Since the Hunting Act became law 20 years ago, there have been some 250,000 days hunting with hounds, and yet the number of convictions involving BHSA-registered hunts is tiny - 25 in all these years.

"This demonstrates not only that trail hunting is what it says it is – an ethical, well-regulated pastime that does not harm any wild animal, but also that the law is working exactly as it should.

"Trail hunting is supported by tens of thousands of people up and down the country, as these 30 open events next Saturday will show.”

Rowan Hughes, spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, said: "It is widely accepted that ‘trail hunting’ has been used for the last 20 years as a smokescreen to disguise illegal hunting, so much so that the new government has committed to banning it in England and Wales. 

"This day of performance should not trick anyone into believing foxes aren’t deliberately ripped apart every week in hunting season.

"It’s now up to the government to make the law fit for purpose to protect British wildlife, by fulfilling their election promise and banning the smokescreen of ‘trail hunting'."