HUNTS across the region are reporting membership booms as they prepare for the first meets of the official hunting season today.

Hundreds of supporters are said to have joined their local hunt as a show of solidarity in the fight against the ban on hunting with dogs.

Among those with bumper membership is South Durham Hunt, from Prime Minister Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency.

Hunt master Mark Shotton said: "A lot of people are coming out to support us. Subscription has gone up so much we've had to restrict membership."

Officials even claim people who previously opposed hunting with hounds have switched allegiance since the Hunting Act - making it a crime to use packs of dogs to chase or kill wild animals - was introduced in February.

Judith Skilbeck, joint master of the Bilsdale Hunt, in North Yorkshire, said: "We've got 20 new names in the past week. It is like a mini revolution in the countryside.

"The most noticeable increase in support is the enormous response from landowners who previously were unsure about giving hunts access to their land."

John Coverdale, secretary of Cleveland Hunt, near Stokesley, North Yorkshire, said: "For our end-of-season meeting in February, we expected about eight riders - we had 54.

"And last Boxing Day the numbers went from 70 to 117."

The Zetland Hunt, which rides from Headlam Village, Teesdale, and the Braes of Derwent, riding around Lanchester, both in County Durham, and the Derwent Hunt, of North Yorkshire, are also expecting the strongest opening meet fields for decades.

Tynedale Hunt, in Northumberland, was one of the few groups to experience a decline in membership at its first meeting last Saturday.

Most hunts are expected to create a trail by dragging a carcass or offal over land to leave a scent for hounds and riders to follow.

Some hunts, including South Durham, believe they have found a loophole in the Act, which enables them to use hounds to flush out a fox and a bird of prey to hunt and kill it.

The League Against Cruel Sports, which was a leading campaigner in favour of the ban, said it was well prepared for today's activities.

A spokesman said: "We will have monitors up and down the country observing hunts, including some in the North-East."

Police forces across the region have said that hunts will not be routinely observed, but if allegations are reported they will be investigated.