Star couple urge Blair to ban hare coursing

Jamie and Louise Redknapp have joined anti-hunt campaigners to urge the Prime Minister to outlaw hare coursing. The couple are speaking out the day before the start of the Waterloo Cup at Altcar, Lancashire.

The Redknapps are backing Campaigning to Protect Hunted Animals (CPHA) in calling for the Government to follow Scotland's lead and ban hunting with dogs. A new Mori poll showed that 81% of people think the sport should be illegal.

Jamie said: "The Waterloo Cup should be consigned to history. Hares should not be chased and torn apart for amusement in this day and age. This cruelty must be banned."

The Waterloo Cup is one of the biggest events in the hunting calendar. Every year hundreds of blood sports enthusiasts gather to watch hares being chased and caught. The CPHA, the RSPCA, League Against Cruel Sports and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) held a news conference in Liverpool to show footage of hares being injured at the last Waterloo Cup in 2000.

Speakers included Colin Pickthall MP, whose West Lancashire constituency includes Altcar, and wildlife expert Professor Stephen Harris of Bristol University. Douglas Batchelor, chief executive of the League said: "The Scottish Parliament has seen fit to ban hunting with dogs, including hare coursing. It is time that Tony Blair honoured his commitments and banned it south of the border."

A Government Bill putting forward three options on hunting with dogs fell when the General Election was called last year.

What Our Investigation Saw...

Armed with hidden cameras and microphones, investigators from the League's undercover unit infiltrated and secretly filmed this years Waterloo Cup hae coursing event in late February. Footage and pictures obtained were passed to MPs and the media in order to assist with campaigning for an all out ban on this sickening bloodsport.

"The first day of coursing was delayed for some two hours due to heavy rain. There was even a rumour of cancellation at one point, sadly it did go ahead. We were eventually allowed entrance to the bank which seems to attract the worst elements of the bloodsports fraturnity. Most were dressed in combat clothing, clutching bags of alcohol to celebrate with. As we queued a massive cheer went up - the first hare had been killed. Many around complained bitterly that they had missed the spectacle. I took my place amongst this charming company and looked at the coursing field, directly in front of where the dogs are slipped was an enormous puddle, through which hares where forced to run for their lives.

"Nervously a hare is beaten towards the coursing field, all the time looking for an escape route. But beaters with flags direct it towards the coursing field. The second the hare passes the slip, the drunken thugs were in full voice shouting threats and abuse at the officials in an attempt to get the dogs released early. Moments later two greyhounds are released and race after the terrified hare, which tries with all its agility to save its life. At one point a hare ran directly in front of the bank where it was pelted with lumps of clay and even spat at by thugs in the crowd. Despite the noise of the crowd the screams of the hare were still audible as the greyhounds played tug of war with it. A few men run up and attempt to retrieve the hare which is still struggling in the greyhounds' mouths. their backs turned on the crowd as they released the hare from the dogs' grip, and proceeded to break its neck before throwing the body into a black bag".

Published in the Wildlife Guardian, Spring 2002

What Protestors Saw...

This year's Waterloo Cup will go down as one of the most callous in recent times, which is no mean feat for this most notorious of bloodsport events.

After the cancellation of last year's event, due to the Foot and Mouth epidemic, organisers insisted that this year's event went ahead despite the heavy rain that had saturated, and in some cases waterlogged, the fields of Altcar during the past month. Waterloo cup supporters couldn't even park their own vehicles because of the state of the fields - the vehicles had to be towed into place by tractors.

If the event's organisers had any interest in the welfare of the hare, as they occasionally like to claim, they would have called it off, but instead they were more interested in sending a defiant message to the Government. The futilality of which was shown a few days later when the Government announced plans for another vote on hunting with dogs.

It is well known that heavy ground conditions make it extra difficult for the fleeing hare to escape from the pursuing dogs, waterlogged fields hinder the hare's progress even more. Not that this mattered to the coursing supporters on the bank; in fact it just seemed to add to their enjoyment.

On an extremely cold and windy day, protesters, including members of the League Against Cruel Sports, supporters of Preston Action for Animals and members of the general public from all over the north-west, gathered for the march to Altcar. A good-natured march ensued, followed by a dignified silent protest at the actual event. In marked contrast, hare course supporters cheered as hares were forced to flee from the dogs through waterlogged fields. The fleeing hares could often be seen to lose all their momentum as they hit the water, while others could be seen desperately struggling through it with water flying up behind them.

What a truly pitiful and cowardly sight. No wonder that Henry S. Salt once asked, "What appeal can be made to people whose first instinct, on seeing a beautiful animal, full of joyousness and vitality, is to hunt it?