 TELEVISION companies were urged last night to broadcast the last Waterloo Cup to capture the full "horror" of hare-coursing before it is banned. The National Coursing Club (NCC) has brought forward the annual event by one week to February 14, to evade the outlawing of the practice just four days later. Yesterday, Lancashire West MP Colin Pickthall condemned the "arrogance and insensitivity" of that decision, in a Parliamentary motion signed by 15 MPs. But the Labour backbencher said the final Waterloo Cup - after 170 years - did offer the opportunity to record a "video nasty", to show exactly why hare-coursing was being banned. Mr Pickthall said: "I think a lot of people would be shocked, not just by what happens to the hare but by the reaction of the people who go there. "There have been some short clips broadcast in the past, but one of the most striking things about the Waterloo Cup is the atmosphere there which, frankly, is bloody awful. "A large number of spectators are drunk by 10.30 in the morning, yelling for blood. It's more like bear-baiting than fox-hunting and the BBC should be able to get some close-up pictures." The ban on hare coursing will come into force exactly three months after the passing of the Hunting Act on November 18, the last day of the last Parliamentary session. It can only be saved if the Countryside Alliance wins its legal case to declare the Act invalid. It lost in the courts last Friday, but will go to appeal on Tuesday. Fox-hunting will also be banned from February 18, after the House of Lords refused a Government compromise to delay implementation until after the general election. The NCC has said the three-day Waterloo Cup, which attracts 10,000 people to Altcar Estate, near Formby, will be badly missed by pubs, restaurants and hoteliers, which enjoyed a bonanza. And it predicted its demise would spell doom for up to 800 protected hares, which would be poached or fall prey to foxes. But Mr Pickthall ridiculed that claim, insisting hares would flourish at Altcar once the "barbaric activity" of coursing was outlawed. Among the fellow MPs who signed his motion are Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby), Joe Benton (Bootle) and Peter Kilfoyle (Walton). | 
News RSS Feed