§ Order for Second Reading, read.
§ THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (Lord TWEEDMOUTH)said, the Bill he asked their Lordships to read a second time was one which had passed through the House of Commons by general consent. The High Court of Justiciary in Scotland had recently decided that cock-fighting did not come within the provisions of the Cruelty to Animals (Scotland) Act, 1850, and therefore in Scotland there was no power to deal with cock-fighting when it took place. Recently there had been a number of very flagrant cases of cock-fighting in Renfrewshire, where cocks had been armed with steel spurs and where the gatherings had been attended by large numbers of roughs. The object of the Bill was to bring cock-fighting within the operation of the Act of 1850, and he hoped their Lordships would give the Bill a Second Reading.
§ Bill read 2a.