Hunt campaigners claim they have unearthed strong evidence that there is no appetite among MPs to overturn the ban on hunting with dogs.

The League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) has polled 650 MPs on what they would do in a free vote on the issue, ahead of the main winter season, which starts early next month.

The organisation’s research reveals that only 253 members were committed to repealing the Hunting Act, which 319 said they would vote against.

LACS has published the results on its website. According to its results, more than a third of MPs in Devon and Cornwall would vote to keep the ban. Seven of 18 members said they would side against a repeal.

But yesterday, hunt supporters insisted the mood was “buoyant”, and believe it is “only a matter of time” before they are allowed to hunt again in the traditional manner.

However, LACS chief executive Douglas Batchelor said: “There is no real appetite in the coalition for bringing back a bloodsport. It is very clear the hunting issue is off the political agenda.

“We don’t expect the first vote to come much before the next election. Even the hunts know this.”

Mr Batchelor said hunts had claimed that previous seasons would be the last under the ban but said they were not making that prediction this time around.

“The law is here to stay and we will continue to support the police in enforcing it.”

Cornish MPs which LACS reports would vote against a repeal are Dan Rogerson, Stephen Gilbert and Andrew George. In Devon they are Alison Seabeck, Adrian Sanders, Sarah Wollaston and Ben Bradshaw.

A further nine said they would vote to repeal the ban, but Oliver Colvile, Tory MP for Plymouth and Devonport, said he would abstain, while Sarah Newton, Conservative MP for Truro and Falmouth, said she was undecided.

Yesterday, Andrew George, Lib Dem MP for St Ives, said the Conservatives’ pledge to put forward a free vote on a motion to the House, on whether legislation is to be brought forward, was likely to be a one-day event.

However, he added: “Even that is a waste of time in my view. As a result of the Act, no jobs have been lost, and nobody has been stopped from enjoying the countryside on horseback.

“All the hunts in my constituency assure me that they are engaged in drag hunting within the law. I don’t see how we can justify spending valuable parliamentary time on this, when there are so many more important matters.”

Stephen Gilbert, Tory MP for St Austell and Newquay, agreed, and said: “The vast majority of contact I get from people concerned about this issue is from those who want to keep the ban.”

But Lucy Wastenage, joint master of the East Devon Hunt, said supporters were confident the ban would be overturned under the current government. She said hunt popularity was “stronger than ever”, and said: “We hope this issue is high on the political agenda, but we do recognise that a lot of issues need to take priority at the moment.”

Jim Pascoe, chairman of the Four Burrows Hunt, which covers an area between Bodmin and The Lizard in Cornwall, said: “It may be a year or two before the political climate is exactly right for a repeal, but we’re working on the basis that it’s almost bound to happen sooner or later.”