DOG-RACING WAR

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 247, 9 January 1928, Page 1

DOG-RACING WAR

BITTER FIGHT GOES ON BATTLE IN THE COMMONS By Cable.—Press Association. — Copyright. LONDON, Friday. Mechanical greyhound coursing is at present the centre of a bitter warfare between its supporters and its opponents. An extraordinary reaction has set in following the boom at the end of last year, when tracks were springing up like mushrooms. The abandonment of the Crystal Palace track was the first big victory for the opponents. The decision was forced on the crustees by the overwhelming opposition of the City of London Corporation and the London County Council. The attack by Mr. J. H. Thmas, M.P., helped to swing the body of opinion, which formerly was non-committal. The Greyhound Racing Association officially declines to regard the Crystal Palace decision as a serious setback. It says the increasing popularity of the sport will not be arrested by its mere rejection In one or two localities The House of Commons will be the venue of the next battle. A com ittee of members and of churchmen announce that they will fight the sport to the uttermost. They are preparing a case at the request of the Home Secretary, Sir William Joynson-Hicks, who has promised to make a statement in the House of Commons on February 7. It is expected that a Bill will be prepared empowering local authorities to veto greyhound racing. In addition a conference will shortly be held at which bishops and other prominent persons will speak. The Greyhound Racing Association has taken up the challenge to protect its investments, which total £3,000,000, by the formation of the Greyhound Racing Protection Society. The Hendon Borough Council to-day rejected plans for greyhound tracks in the district, thereby joining Northampton, Newcastle, Swansea, Bristol, Wolverhampton, Chester, Reading, Ramsgate, the Isle of Man, and several London suburbs. The sport is entirely banned in Spain. A. and N.Z.-Sun.