The RSPCA is considering abandoning its controversial policy of 'pursuing pointless fox hunting prosecutions ' after the collapse of the latest case . The animal charity has no more legal actions left under the Hunting Act after its decision last month to drop the case against William Bryer , joint master of the renowned Cattistock Hunt in Dorset . Following criticism for spending £22.5million pursuing animal welfare prosecutions last year , the RSPCA is now reviewing its policy on fox hunting cases . The RSPCA is considering abandoning its controversial policy of 'pursuing pointless fox hunting prosecutions ' after the collapse of the latest case ( file picture of the Boxing Day hunt in Lacock , Wiltshire ) The RSPCA has the power to bring its own prosecutions rather than rely on the police or the Crown Prosecution Service ( CPS ) . However last October , a report commissioned by the charity recommended abandoning the policy and leaving the job to the CPS , which has more expertise . The organisation stressed that its main role is to focus on the rescue , rehabilitation and rehoming of animals , rather than taking people to court . A spokesman said : 'One of the questions we are currently looking into it whether or not we continue to prosecute under the Hunting Act . ' Fox hunting was outlawed in 2005 under Tony Blair 's government , but groups continue to meet by using trail hunting , usually with a hunt member dragging the scent of a fox across fields and woodlands . Other hunts use an exemption that allows dogs to flush out the animals from woodland which can then be shot . There were more than 400 prosecutions under the controversial Hunting Act between 2009 and 2013 . Just 49 people were charged with hunting offences in 2005 , but this more than doubled to 110 by 2010 . The animal charity has no more legal actions left under the Hunting Act after its decision last month to drop the case against William Bryer , joint master of the renowned Cattistock Hunt ( pictured ) in Dorset . Fox hunting with dogs was outlawed in 2005 under Tony Blair 's government , but groups continue to meet by using trail hunting ( file picture ) However critics claim many of these people are prosecuted under the Hunting Act for poaching offences , rather than fox hunting , and that hardly any are from official hunts . In 2012 , the RSPCA spent £327,000 prosecuting the Heythrop Hunt , in Oxfordshire . David Cameron has ridden with the hunt . Three defendants were accused of interfering with a badger sett while assisting the Cheshire Hunt in February 2012 . A year later the RSPCA admitted it did not have enough evidence . Defendants ’ costs of up to £10,000 paid by the taxpayer . In April 2013 , charity accused two defendants in the Cheshire Forest Hunt of disturbing a badger sett but ten months later offered ‘ no evidence ’ . In November 2013 , case against Will Goffe , 33 , of the Ledbury Hunt , near Malvern in Worcestershire , was dropped due to insufficient evidence . Last month Mr Bryer 's case collapsed after the RSPCA pulled out of a three-year battle to prove he had broken hunting laws . His solicitor , Jamie Foster , claimed that the case had been flawed from the start . He said : 'There is video footage of my client laying legal trails before and after the alleged breach of the hunting ban which was not disclosed to us by the RSPCA . ' He said the laying of a trail , or a scent which the hounds can track rather than chasing a live animal , showed that the Cattistock had behaved responsibly , not recklessly as the prosecution claimed . Tim Bonner , from the Countryside Alliance , said : 'We would welcome any decision by the RSPCA to leave the question of prosecuting hunts to the police and the Crown Prosecution Service . 'The Society has always faced a fundamental difficulty acting as a prosecutor while also being a political campaigning organisation . It can only be in the best interests of animal welfare that the RSPCA returns to its core principles rather than pursuing pointless prosecutions through the courts . ' An RSPCA spokesman said : 'Whilst we have not changed our policy on prosecuting alleged offences under the Hunting Act we do n't have any other hunt cases pending at the moment . '
• considering dropping policy of prosecuting offenders for fox hunting . # ##watch dropped its last case against fox master and has been prosecuted . A total of £ 22.5million was spent on animal welfare cases last year alone . Campaigners say RSPCA should stop ' pursuing pointless prosecutions '