BLOOD-SPORTS BILL THREATENS WATERLOO CUP

Grey River Argus, 1 March 1949, Page 7

BLOOD-SPORTS BILL THREATENS WATERLOO CUP

[From a Reuter Correspondent in LONDON!

It is on the cards that the Waterloo Cup, Britain’s premier greyhound coursing trophy which has been held for 112 years, may not be run again. If the abolition of blood sports bill goes through Parliament, this sportwill probably die. Last week when the Waterloo Cup was held, some writers described it as “the weeks bloodiest event.” Sentences appeared in the British press like “What an unutterably foul business the Waterloo Cup is,” and “last week at Altcar Liverpool they were at their beastly bloodletting again.” It is significant that those who oppose the sport are mostly townsfolk. The country men and women for the most part are in favour of it. The abolition of Bloodsports Bill is being fiercely fought by the British Field Sports Society with the support of the National Farmers Union and tens of thousands of individual sportsmen and sportswomen. They do not regard coursing as being any more cruel than any other blood-sport. There are sound grounds for saying that it is less cruel than shooting and fishing which are not included in the Abolition of Bloodsports Bill.