Hunt protesters have "trained" Devon and Cornwall Police officers in enforcing the Hunting Act, the League Against Cruel Sports has claimed.

In its annual report on the hunting season, the League Against Cruel Sports said its figures showed that two-thirds of hunts in England and Wales are continuing to hunt foxes and other wild mammals, despite the ban introduced five years ago.

The animal welfare group also said that of the 81 cases reported jointly to the Hunt Crimewatch service and the police, eight were in Devon and Cornwall, 14 in Avon and Somerset and five in Dorset.

But the league's 24-page report also claimed to have provided "training" in Hunting Act enforcement to seven police forces, including Devon and Cornwall.

The report states: "The training provided by the league is based almost entirely on a detailed explanation of the Hunting Act provisions, with reference to case law and guidance issued by ACPO (the Association of Chief Police Officers) and the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service)

"It also includes an explanation of relevant hunting issues including those not covered by the Act such as trail hunting, and provides practical investigative advice with regard to powers of search and seizure and interviewing of suspects.

"Great care has been taken to ensure that the training provided is completely apolitical and uncontroversial."

Devon and Cornwall Police immediately moved to clarify the position, explaining that wildlife officers had heard from both sides of the hunting debate at a meeting.

"I can confirm that the police liaison officer from the League Against Cruel Sports last year gave an input from their perspective into the Hunting Act during the wildlife officer training course," a spokesman said. "As a balance an input was also provided by the Countryside Alliance."

Alison Hawes, spokesman for the Countryside Alliance, said she had been aware of that meeting, saying: "I don't call that training"

She added: "Bearing in mind that hunting is a low policing priority, on a scale of one to 10 being about a half, I would be surprised if they spent any time being 'trained' in enforcing a piece of legislation, which is their job, by an outside pressure group."

The league also said that the 137 convictions under the legislation "unequivocally demonstrate the effectiveness of the Hunting Act".

"The hunters will tell you that the Hunting Act doesn't work because people break it," said John Cooper QC, chairman of the league.

"At the end of the day, disagreement with the law isn't justification to break it."

But Mrs Hawes said: "The police could sit on the A38 for an hour and catch more people breaking the law by speeding than the number of people who have broken the Hunting Act over the last five years."