Lincolnshire: 'Significant' fall in hare coursing offences - police

Hare coursing was made illegal under the Hunting Act in 2004

New legislation to tackle hare coursing is helping to "significantly reduce" the number of offences in Lincolnshire, police have said.

Under the measures, trespass, or being equipped to trespass, with the intention of using a dog to search for a hare is now a criminal offence.

Supt Lee Pache said it meant officers could stop and search vehicles, seize dogs and make arrests.

He said police action was also having an impact on reducing offences.

Lincolnshire is one of the areas most frequently targeted by coursers due to its flat, rural areas, with December traditionally seeing the most incidents.

Some involved in coursing claim it is family tradition, especially during the Christmas holidays

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

In previous years, some parts of Lincolnshire were described as resembling the "Wild West" after an escalation in the level of violence used by coursers.

Supt Pache, head of specialist operations with Lincolnshire Police, said: "History has shown us these are very dangerous people."

However, he said the formation of a new rural crime task force to combat criminal activity, including hare coursing, along with the new legislation, was deterring criminals from coming to the county.

In recent weeks, Supt Pache said the force had made an "unprecedented" 22 arrests and seized or recovered 32 dogs.

"In terms of the specifics around law and legislation, I actually think the new legislation is having the greatest impact," he said.

"In the past, unless we caught them [in the act] we would struggle to deal with offenders," he added.

Under the new measures, introduced in August, anyone caught hare coursing faces an unlimited fine and up to six months in prison.

Those convicted can also be stopped from owning or keeping dogs.

Under the new legislation, anyone convicted can be stopped from owning or keeping dogs

Supt Pache said the Lincolnshire force was also employing an intelligence-led approach and sharing information with other forces.

In England, there are an estimated half a million brown hares left, but numbers are declining as they face threats including poaching and habitat loss.

Adam Grogan, the RSPCA's head of wildlife, described hare coursing as "a barbaric bloodsport".

"Hare coursing gangs inflict fear and suffering on their targets - the hare - but our rescue teams have also seen many dogs, used for coursing, coming into our care having been injured during the sport or abandoned when their owners no longer have use for them," he said.

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

• 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