Anti-hunt protesters want the sport outlawed

Hunting without a licence would be a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of up to six months' jail.

Sanctions for breaching the code would include suspending licences and imposing fines of up to �2,000.

The proposals were put forward by a cross-party group of MPs, the Middle Way group.

Self-regulation condemned

Members said it was time to replace the raw emotion of the hunting debate with some calm reason.

It said proposals for self-regulation of the sport from supporters would not work.

We found a middle way about Sunday shopping. Perhaps we will find a middle way about this

Lembit Opik, group joint chairman

The proposals were expected to feed in to a promised government bill laying out the various options for Parliament, ranging from an outright ban to leaving the present laws unchanged.

The authority would have the power to prosecute hunts that abuse the code of practice.

The code would demand, among other things, that animals be killed in the minimum practical time.

It would also state that foxes which had run to ground should not be dug out.

'Cruelty not addressed'

It is estimated that the authority would cost around �1m a year to run, but it would be funded by licences bought by the hunts.

A large majority of MPs are believed to favour an outright ban on hunting, but the Middle Way group said that attitude was misguided.

It argued that the rational conclusion of a complete ban would lead to similar calls for an end to shooting and fishing and even the eating of meat.

The manner in which the fox is killed - being torn apart by a pack of dogs - is cruel

Mike Foster

But Worcester MP Mike Foster, who has led the Parliamentary battle to ban fox-hunting, said the Middle Way Group did not address the cruelty of the sport.

"The chase is cruel and the manner in which the fox is killed - being torn apart by a pack of dogs - is cruel," he said.

But one of the joint chairmen of the Middle Way Group, Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik, said that in some hilly areas the best way to keep fox numbers under control was with dogs.

"All organisations accept that fox numbers need to be controlled so the question is not whether you control fox numbers but how."

He said: "We found a middle way about Sunday shopping. Perhaps we will find a middle way about this."