A ban on hunting because of foot and mouth disease will continue until farmers give the go-ahead for the country pastime to resume, a spokesman for the Council of Hunting Associations said yesterday.

Hunting bodies expect a government risk assessment to say that hunting could resume under strict conditions in areas that are free of the disease.

In a separate move, the RSPCA has claimed that intense animal suffering could have been avoided during the worst days of the foot and mouth crisis.