Spalding: Four arrested over hare coursing after police chase

Lincolnshire Police has a policy of seizing dogs suspected of being used for hare coursing (file picture)

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of hare coursing in Lincolnshire following a "short police pursuit".

Lincolnshire Police said officers were called to Eastern Road in the Spalding area at 12:00 GMT on Wednesday.

The suspects fled the scene in a VW Touareg, but were caught a short time later, a spokesperson said.

The men, aged 32, 37, 38 and 39, and from the Cambridgeshire area, were later released on bail.

Officers also seized their vehicle, along with four saluki dogs, which have been transferred to kennels, the spokesperson added.

The arrests come after a dispersal order was put in place on Saturday due to a rise in incidents.

Despite the order, police dealt with seven reports of hare coursing over the weekend.

In one, suspected hare coursers caused £1,000 of damage to crops when a 4x4 was driven across a field.

Supt Lee Pache, from Lincolnshire Police, said: "We had a number of incidents reported in the Boston and South Holland area on Saturday.

"As a consequence of that, over £1,000 of damage to a winter barley crop was caused."

Commenting on the latest arrests, he added: "We would like to thank the public for continuing to report these incidents.

"On this occasion we have arrested four men in relation to suspected hare coursing. They have had their dogs and vehicle seized."

Lincolnshire Police started seizing dogs in 2018, and said it saw a 30% reduction in offences (file picture)

Lincolnshire is one of the areas most frequently targeted by coursers due to its flat, rural areas.

According to police, coursers are often engaged in illegal betting involving large sums of money and the dogs involved can be worth thousands of pounds.

New measures to tackle hare coursing were introduced in August, meaning convicted offenders could be stopped from owning or keeping dogs.

Courts can now also order that police be repaid for costs of kennelling dogs seized in connection with a hare coursing-related offence.

What is hare coursing?

• The coursers will walk along the 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

• Since 2005, hare coursing has been illegal throughout the UK. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt wild mammals with dogs

Source: Lincolnshire Police