Labour is to make the preservation of the hunting ban a key plank in its election strategy.

Ministers are determined to use the controversial four-year-old ban on hunting with dogs to highlight the Conservative Party’s pledge to repeal the Hunting Act.

As hunts across Britain gather today for the opening meet of the new season, divisions over the legislation remain entrenched. Huntsmen and women riding out this weekend are buoyed in the belief that the ban may be repealed by next autumn if David Cameron becomes Prime Minister.

The Conservatives have promised to give Parliament an early opportunity for a free vote to reverse the ban in a Government Bill, although the precise mechanism has not been agreed.

Anti-hunt activists want to use the issue to shore up Labour’s core vote at the election and to protect the legislation. Hilary Benn, the Rural Affairs Secretary, has agreed to front Labour’s campaign against repeal. He has sent an e-mail to Labour Party members to tell “as many people as possible that a Conservative government would mean an end to the ban so many people worked so hard to introduce”.

Mr Benn has sought to contrast the Government’s focus on tackling the recession with a Tory priority to repeal the hunting ban.

Using emotive language, he said: “Make no mistake — David Cameron and members of his top team have made it very clear that their intention is to see the return of the cruel spectacle of foxes being torn to pieces in Britain’s countryside.”

Anti-hunt organisations will help prospective parliamentary candidates who oppose the ban by stuffing envelopes with campaign messages or delivering leaflets.

This tactic was used by hunt supporters in the 2005 election campaign and plans are well advanced for similar assistance to be deployed at the election next year.

This week the Association of Chief Police Officers issued forces with a new manual on policing hunts. Police chiefs have said that they do not intend to waste resources following hunts to find evidence and instead have said they will rely on information from anti-hunt activists.

The 67-page manual seen by The Times makes clear that, for a successful prosecution to be made, police must be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt intent of unlawful hunting.

Times Recommends

• How I lost the gift of joy for a while
• Why Ann Widdecombe has got it wrong
• Alas, it’s the end of the road for petrolheads