Hare-coursing event begins ahead of ban
What is likely to be the last-ever Waterloo Cup hare coursing event begins today in Altcar, Merseyside.
Animal rights demonstrators are expected at the three-day annual event which sees hares pursued by greyhounds.
The Waterloo Cup has been moved forward a week from its traditional date in order to evade the ban on hare coursing – put in place under the Hunting Act – which begins on Friday.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare, which condemns the sport as cruel, said: “This Valentine’s Day will hold no romance for British hares heralding as it does the start of the Waterloo Cup – a horrific event that derives pleasure from the pursuit and death of these wild mammals.”
However, the National Coursing Club claims that seven out of eight hares coursed survive and argues that flight is a natural response to the hare and deny charges of causing suffering.
Ten thousand supporters are expected to attend the event, near Southport.
The Waterloo Cup has been staged since 1836, and at its peak attracted as many as 75,000 spectators.
Hare coursing will be banned from February 18, along with fox hunting.
However, the ban could be overturned if the Countryside Alliance’s court challenge to the Government’s use of the Parliament Act to push the measure through the House of Lords is successful.
The case is now with the Court of Appeal after the High Court decided the Government’s use of the Parliament Act was legal.
A decision is expected from the Court of Appeal before the ban comes into force on Friday.
