CONCERN IN ENGLAND ABOUT INCREASE IN COCK-FIGHTING

Wanganui Chronicle, 9 March 1949, Page 5

CONCERN IN ENGLAND ABOUT INCREASE IN COCK-FIGHTING

LONDON, March 8 (Recd. 7.15 pm). —Cock-fighting, usually considered to be a thing of the past, is reported to be on the increase again in Britain, and the House of Commons has approved a measure to tighten up the century-old legal ban on the sport. Sir William Darling, a Scotsman, told the House that cock-fighting still flourished in parts of England. He quoted an old tavern ditty which, he said, is still sung: “To keep game cocks and hunt the fox, To drink the punch and whisky; We fear no locks, we will train the cocks,

And care not if it’s risky.” “The object of this Bill is to make it more risky.” said Sir William. The Bill permits policemen to make arrests if they find roosters which are clipped for cock-fighting, and prohibits the possession of steel fighting spurs which are attached to the cock’s legs. The police have complained that they have been unable to combat cock-fighting effectively because under the present laws they must actually witness a fight. Superintendent S. Bennett, of R-S.P.C.A. headquarters, London, says his association has compiled a black list of people who indulge in cockfighting, which includes the names of some “in very high places.” Superintendent Bennett stated: “At a cockfight held in France recently British people present signed their names on a menu card. You would be surprised to see who were among them. There .were some women accompanying the men. In England many cockfights are held in the Newmarket district- and they are often found where race gangs operate. Others are held in the North, chiefly in Cumberland and Westmoreland. The gangs are so wary and their lookouts so efficient that few convictions are made. The last in Britain was at Hackthorpe, near Penrith, in 1938, when, 17 people were lined. “Cockfighting is definitely on the increase again since the lull caused by the war,” concluded Superintendent Bennett. “It is very difficult to catch the pepole concerned. Our inspectors always work in plain clothes and sometimes adopt disguises. I myself have lain for hours on a Yorkshire moor disguised as a fisherman- but did not catch anybody ” —(Special Correspondent, N.Z.P.A.)