Two men issued fines for hare coursing

Hare coursing was banned under the Hunting Act in 2004

Two men have been fined after they were found guilty of hare coursing in Lincolnshire.

Edward Connors, 24, and Jerry Connors, 19, both of Rectory Lane, Woodmansterne, Banstead, Surrey, were arrested and charged after an incident in Crowland in March 2023.

The pair, and two others, were found guilty of hunting a wild mammal with dogs and trespass during a trial in December 2023.

Warrants for their arrests were later issued and they were sentenced at Lincoln Magistrates' Court on 29 May.

Lincolnshire Police said officers had been called out on Sunday 12 March 2023 to reports of four men hare coursing.

Witnesses reported seeing the men walking across fields with one driving a blue Daihatsu Terios 4x4 through newly planted crops.

Following a short chase, the four members of the group were arrested.

The pair were both individually fined £875 and ordered to pay £4929.83 compensation and a £350 victim surcharge.

What is hare coursing?

• Coursers will walk along a field to frighten the hare into the open

• The dog catches the hare and kills it by "ragging" it - shaking the animal in its teeth

• The dogs - usually greyhounds, lurchers or salukis - are on a slip lead, threaded so it can be easily released

• The dead hare is usually left in the field or thrown in a ditch

• Hare coursing is illegal throughout the UK. The Hunting Act 2004, makes it an offence to hunt wild mammals with dogs

Source: Lincolnshire Police

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