STAMPING IT OUT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue CXXIII, 10 April 1937, Page 25

STAMPING IT OUT

COCK-FIGHTING IN ENGLAND

■■'■ The Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty'to. Animals is taking, action to stamp out; cock-fighting in1 England, says the "Daily: Telegraph." V .-, : ..Attention was drawn to ; the' continuance of the sport .by the transport of 100 British gamecocks to take part in a cock-fighting meeting, attended *>y 300 British Visitors, in Calais. _Then the "Daily Telegraph" indicated, that cock-fighting was still • prevalent ,in, sparsely-populated hills and dales of Northern England. : .■."■.- '. >■■ The society, an official said, had decided to-appoint<additional inspectors to deal with cock-fighting.: "It is very difficult: to catch anyone : engaged in this illegal business," he said. "Whenever a cock-fight is held sentries are posted on all approaches. to the scene. Before an inspector can get within miles of the spot the- culprits have been warned. We have considered using aeroplanes to spot the venue of the fights. "We know that cock-fighting takes place in Cumberland, Westmoreland, North Yorkshire, and other, places in the North of England. We have also reason to believe that it takes place in the vicinity of Newmarket.' STAGED IN A CELLAR. "It has even been reported that 'mains1 have been staged in a cellar within a few hundred yards of Marble Arch. We have not been able to verify the latter report. . " ... "We intend to discover the owners of the birds sent to Calais. We can take no action, however, unless we catch people in the act of staging a cock fight in this; country. We hope that inquiries about the Calais birds will provide us-with clues." A representative of the firm which arranged for the transport of the gamecocks to Calais said that similar batches were sent over every' year for two ( series of matches held at Calais, within a week'or so of each other.

"It is not illegal to send the birds to Prance," he said. "A permit must first be obtained from the French Ministry of Agriculture. There is no difficulty about that, so long as the quota for poultry imports for the year has not been exceeded. "The birds are sent as if . they were intended for exhibition. If the French police discover that they are employed for illegal cock-fighting the promoters are fined, but that does not seem to prevent- cock-fighting in Calais.

"A Scotland Yard official who investigated the pending of gamecocks to France some years ago told me that nothing could be done to prevent it. Most of the birds come from the North of England, but some come from the Newmarket neighbourhood." The penalty for taking part in a cockfighting exhibition in this country, is, under an. Act of 1849, a fine of £25 and, or, three months' imprisonment.