Unpaid work for men who hunted hares with dogs
- Published
Three Aberdeenshire men who admitted using dogs to hunt hares in Angus have been ordered to carry out unpaid work.
Phillip Wilson, 25, Philip Starr, 41, and Peter Anderson, 51, all from Macduff, admitted wildlife offences on farmland in Brechin in February 2020.
A mobile phone belonging to Starr and seized by police contained a video which showed a dog with a dead hare.
At Forfar Sheriff Court, each of the men was sentenced to 190 hours of unpaid work.
Police had been alerted after people with lurcher-type dogs were spotted, and a car registration noted.
'Cruel and wholly illegal'
Officers stopped and searched the car on the A92.
Phone voice messages arranging to meet up to go hare coursing were found as well as the video footage.
All three men were also banned from having dogs for two years.
Speaking after the sentencing, Fiona Caldwell, head of the Crown Office wildlife and environmental crime unit, said: "Hare coursing is a cruel and wholly illegal act.
"I welcome the sentence of these three men and the message it should send to anyone involved in hare coursing."