Pro-hunt peers have succeeded in reversing the complete ban on hunting backed previously by MPs in the British parliament.
A cross party amendment to the Hunting Bill allowing registered hunting to continue was passed by 261 votes to 49 - a majority of 212.
The vote again sets the Lords on collision course with the Commons in the long battle over hunting.
If, as seems certain, MPs again vote for a total ban on hunting, the Government will have to decide whether to use the Parliament Act to force through a ban in the next session of Parliament.
The Hunting Bill originally allowed for licensed foxhunting in some parts of the country but banned stag hunting and hare coursing.
On a free vote in July, the Commons opted for a complete ban - but now peers are trying to put the Bill back to its original state.
Senior Labour backbencher Baroness Mallalieu, president of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance, said the Bill as originally drafted was sensible and could have been made fair to all sides.
But she said the legislation had been wrecked by MPs and her intention now was "to restore the Bill to a fair and workable registration system as envisaged by the Government and as promised by the them".
She said: "Most of the amendments will restore word for word, those of the original Bill."
PA