Showing Their True Colours - Again!
For the final time the Lord Leverhulme's estate, owned
by London property magnate Lee Magner and his wife Janet,
played host to the most callous of all bloodsports the
Waterloo Cup. Determined to get every last ounce of hare
blood before the hunting ban comes into effect, the organisers
had brought forward this year's event.
Hundreds of anti-hunt protesters gathered
to protest at Altcar in order to draw the media's attention
to the reality of hare coursing. As the anti-hunt procession,
escort by police, was led through the car park at Withins
Field, they met by children as young as 10, wearing army
camouflage jackets and screaming mindless obscenties.
Then parents, some wearing balaclava's, began to add their
own epithets. Mounted police used their horses to drive
back a group of coursing supporters who tried to charge
the protestors.
Then the throwing began. Missiles included
a dismembered hare (once again demonstrating their love
for wildlife), bottles, cans, stones and dozens of earth
clods were thrown at anti-hunt protesters. Two live fireworks
were also thrown despite the many police officers being
on horseback. At no time did the organisers or
representatives of the hunting fraternity make any appeal
to the coursing supporters to stop throwing missiles.
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| Above: Simon Hart, Countryside
Alliance Chief Executive pictured with acquaintance.
Above right: A few minutes later she got herself arrested. |
During the protest police arrested several coursing supporters
for public order offences and police video evidence should
result in more arrests in the coming weeks. Simon Hart,
chief executive of the Countryside Alliance stood close
to protesters with a photographer right behind him hoping
their presence would provoke a reaction - but just as in
the high court he failed.
Instead it was a women who a few minutes earlier had been filmed talking to
Simon Hart who was arrested for trying to provoke protesters
by waving a fox tail at protestors.
Despite extreme provocation not a single anti-hunt protestor
was arrested during their peaceful protest. After half
an hour protesters decided they had made their point and
left the grounds under a torrent of missiles and threats.
Four hares died on the first day, which were greeted
by cheers from coursing supporters as ever.
Quote of the Day:
"I'm absolutely, 100 per cent certain that the Waterloo
Cup will take place in some form in 2006. It may not be
here, it may not even be in this country, and it may be
in a different form." Simon Hart, chief executive
of the Countryside Alliance fails to grasp the fact that
the Waterloo Cup is away from Altcar isn't in fact the
Waterloo Cup.
More pictures shortly....
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