I was brought up on a council estate and despite the fact I’ve moved around a bit over the years, I’ve always lived in towns.

The nearest I’ve come to communing with the country is the odd trip to Delamere Forest.

So the countryside and the ways of country folk are a just a mystery to me. Which brings me to that quaint rural pastime, hunting with dogs.

I mention this after the recent court case of a Cuddington man who failed to show up in court as he was found guilty of two charges of hunting a wild mammal with a dog.

It wasn’t his first conviction this year for offences relating to hunting.

Despite failing to attend, the 38-year-old was a fined and given a criminal behaviour order. It was a costly business for the man who was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £150 in costs along with a surcharge of £800.

The restrictions in the criminal behaviour order relate to his actions in running so-called trail hunts and state he must be able to evidence where a trail has been laid on the day of a hunt for which he is the huntsman, and must be able to produce this evidence when asked by a police officer.

There are other restrictions relating to hunt dogs on private land, the number of dogs under his control and dogs entering woodland.

The law relating to hunting with dogs is The Hunting Act 2004 which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions.

But the law does not affect drag hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent.

And here’s the problem. As a spokesman for campaign group Cheshire Against Blood Sports has said: “Once again this guilty verdict of hunting a wild mammal with dogs shows that ‘trail hunting’ is nothing but a sham, a smokescreen for illegal hunting and we believe action must be taken to not only strengthen the 2004 Hunting Act but to also end the practice of trail hunting.”

But hunting does have its supporters. Proponents argue it is a deeply rooted tradition in the UK’s rural culture.

For centuries, hunting has been considered a vital part of British heritage, with fox hunting, in particular, holding a special place in the hearts of many enthusiasts.

They argue that hunting with dogs is a cultural practice that should be preserved and respected.

They say hunting with dogs can play a role in wildlife management and pest control. In certain cases, it can help control populations of animals such as foxes and deer and can be an effective means of maintaining ecological balance.

It can also bring economic benefits, they say, claiming that hunting with dogs contributes significantly to the rural economy, providing jobs and income for many, from hunters to kennel staff, and generates revenue for businesses such as hotels and pubs.

Most bizarrely, there is a twisted animal welfare logic put forward, arguing it can be more humane than other methods of culling animals, bringing the prey to a ‘swift and natural end’ compared to alternative methods such as shooting.

Not much of a choice for foxes and deer is it – being savaged to death by a pack of hounds or being shot.

Perhaps it’s the townie in me but I’m not convinced. It just seems inherently cruel.

I can’t help but think that hunting with dogs inflicts unnecessary suffering on the hunted animals, particularly foxes, which are often chased to exhaustion before being killed.

Surely this goes against the principles of animal welfare and causes undue suffering.

And the evidence of the court case referred to earlier in this column would indicate the hunting community, in some circumstances, cannot be trusted to self-regulate effectively.

I wonder if the law would be as lenient with me if I was to kick a dog to death and to be honest, I can’t see a difference between doing that and allowing hounds to savage a fox.

As I said, I’m no countryside expert (nor have I ever knowingly and deliberately killed a wild animal) but surely if the aim is to control creatures you have determined to be pests, there are better ways of going about it.

In any event, I think I am on the right side of the argument on this one with polls consistently showing that a majority of the UK population opposes hunting with dogs.

Maybe this is one of our countryside traditions that should be confined to the pages of the history books along with sending small children up chimneys and drowning witches.