Hare coursing: Calls for clampdown on illegal activity

Wiltshire Police said hare coursers were 'becoming more organised and determined'

Farmers and politicians are calling for police to lead a clampdown on illegal hare coursing after fears of escalating violence.

A gamekeeper came across nine dead hares dumped by coursers on a rural road in Wiltshire earlier this month.

Coursers use dogs to chase down hares and deer and many chases are streamed online allowing viewers to bet on which dog will kill the most animals.

Wiltshire Police said the force was "cracking down on hare coursing".

Trevor Hunter, from the Wiltshire and Hampshire Gamekeepers' Group, said the coursers had caused an estimated £12,000 worth of damage on one estate after they wrecked crops, gates and fences.

Mr Hunter came across the nine dead hares as he made his way to work early one morning.

"It was intended, I think, as a message to say: 'We're here, we're coursing and we'll do it, when we like, where we like and there's nothing you can do about it. And if you do try to stop us, we'll do something about it,'" he said.

One farmer, known as Jim, said it was "scary" for farmers to be confronted by coursers on their land.

Trevor Hunter said the dead hares left in a rural lane appeared to be a "message" from hare coursers trespassing on farmers' land

"We get faced by seven, eight men and you're on your own and they're threatening. It's serious."

Danny Kruger, MP for Devizes, said he and some of his constituents were "appalled" by the crime and there was "an absolutely urgent need to put more officers onto the rural beat".

Insp Liz Coles of Wiltshire Police said while the force had made "some significant advances", criminals were "becoming more organised and determined".

She said the force's dedicated rural crime team, launched in October, had "helped immensely...to run projects and focus on prevention alongside our partners".

"Our message is clear, if we suspect anyone of hare coursing in Wiltshire, we will act and potentially seize their dogs."