THE Waterloo Cup will never take place again as the Government vowed last night to rush through a ban on hare coursing by next February.
Rural Affairs minister Alun Michael said the long-delayed Hunting Bill - to be debated by MPs next Wednesday - would come into force in time to stop the staging of the UK's largest hare coursing event.
Yet fox hunting will continue for two more years, to prevent the run-up to next year's expected General Election being dominated by conflict in the countryside.
Mr Michael told the Daily Post: "I believe the Waterloo Cup takes place around February 25. My expectation is that it will not, therefore, take place."
The minister said special rules would apply to hare coursing because of the"violence and intimidation" closely associated with illegal coursing events.
He said: "We have received many representations asking us to take firm and speedy action to enable the police to tackle these associated evils."
That can only be done if the nature of the relevant offences is changed from that of trespassing to the activity of hare coursing itself, which is a clear provision of the Bill.
"There can be no justification for delaying further in giving the police the powers they need to crack down on the criminals involved."
The end of the Waterloo Cup was signalled as the Government confirmed that the Hunting Bill will be forced through Parliament in the current session, before the end of November.
News RSS Feed