 MERSEYSIDE 'S final Waterloo Cup ended quietly. Thousands of spectators attended the last day of the 170-year-old hare-coursing event at Altcar, near Formby, yesterday. But despite sporadic violence erupting on Monday, the event concluded peacefully. It came as senior judges rejected arguments by the Countryside Alliance that the 1949 Parliament Act, which MPs used to force througha ban on hunting, was invalid. This year's Waterloo Cup was brought forward to beat the ban, which comes into force tomorrow. Today, animal rights campaigners in the region said the cup will not be missed. Tony Moore, chairman of FAACE (Fight Against Animal Cruelty in Europe) said: "It's all over now bar the shouting. " Even the last futile attempts to have the ban overturned will die out now. Good riddance to a barbaric event. "It's a shame it has taken so long to come to an end but at least it's over. I've heard a lot of pro-hare coursing supporters say they will carry on regardless. "But that's like motorists who parked anywhere before they introduced yellow lines and then carried on parking anywhere after. If they carry on hunting hares with dogs they will face arrest." But Liz Mort, a spokeswoman for the Countryside Alliance, said the Hunting Act is "shabby" legislation. "It is unworkable, unenforceable and will never stand the test of time," she added. The event continued to cause controversy up to its final hour. RSPCA inspectors claimeda hare which had eluded two dogs pursuing it in a coursing rounds, was then ripped apart by a dog from the crowd. Regional superintendent David Millard said: "The hare had successfully eluded two chasing dogs and should have been allowed to escape. "Instead, it was subjected to an agonising death, simply because one man was determined to see it killed." A Countryside Alliance spokeswoman said: "If that did happen, it sounds like an accident." Chief Inspector Steve Ashley from Lancashire police said: "There were three arrests made on Monday for very minor public order offences but since then there have been no incidents of note." | 
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