The UK House of Lords has voted overwhelmingly to allow registered hunting with hounds.
Voting was 322 to 72, majority 250, during the Hunting Bill's committee stage.
The move, in defiance of the government's Bill which would outlaw the traditional country sport, was backed by a powerful all-party group of peers and came after nearly three hours of emotional and at times angry debate.
Later, peers backed a further amendment moved by Labour's Baroness Golding to introduce a system of registration for hare
coursing.
Voting was 67 to 54, majority 13. The Bill would have banned this activity.
Peers who are in favour of hunting had called for hunts to be allowed to continue if they passed tests on cruelty and on whether they were needed for pest control.
However, opponents of hunting warned the Lords that it should not interfere with a measure passed overwhelmingly in the Commons last month.
The House of Lords has blocked previous attempts to outlaw hunting, but the government has the power to force the measure on to the statute books.
