Man banned from owning animals after ‘standing on hare while his dog mauled it’

A man from County Durham has been banned from owning animals for five years after what a judge described as “absolutely appalling animal cruelty”. 12th October 2021 Paul Bowes, 30, of Etherley Dene, Bishop Auckland, was convicted of hunting with a dog at Rise in East Yorkshire and causing unnecessary suffering to a brown hare, …

Cotswolds hare hunting: Man hit with huge fine after illegal New Year’s Day coursing

Police said he wreaked 'so much pain and suffering on the wildlife' 4th October 2021 A man has been fined £1,713 after being convicted of illegally hunting hares. Anthony Williams, of Southend Lane in Newent, entered farmland in the Cotswolds in the hours of darkness, accompanied by two boys. He then encouraged his Lurcher-type dogs …

Suffolk’s farms a no go zone for 4 hare coursers

28th September 2021 Four poachers have been banned from stepping foot on Suffolk's farmland while with certain breeds of dogs after they were caught hare coursing. Thomas Connors, 43, Patrick Rooney, 36, Anthony Connors, 34, and James Bell, 20, were handed an order which bans them being on private agricultural or farm land, or any …

Men fined hundreds of pounds after being caught hare coursing

13th September 2021 Two men have been fined hundreds of pounds after being caught hare coursing in North Yorkshire. Thomas Agar McDonald, 33, from Stokesley, and John Alan Langan, 35, from Great Ayton were caught by police officers after a report from a member of the public. Both men took off from police on January …

Man convicted of hare coursing across Fife

2nd September 2021 A FIFE man has been fined after being convicted of using his dog to catch and kill hares last year. Jackie Stewart, 41, was fined £1,000 at Dundee Sheriff Court on Wednesday, 1 September, 2021, after pleading guilty to the offence on 17 June 2020. Hare coursing is a wildlife crime where …

Police find thousands of hare coursing images on phone belonging to theft suspect

17th August 2021 Derbyshire Constabulary's Rural Crime Team have arrested a suspect on suspicion of hare coursing and firearm offences. The suspect was initially arrested on suspicion of stealing a large piece of plant machinery, police said. Their mobile phone was examined and police said they recovered more than 43,000 images and videos, many of …

Man fined for hare coursing

4th August 2021 Hull magistrates heard that, on Sunday March 21, Adam Brown, from Doncaster, set his dogs to chase brown hares on farmland near Rawcliffe Bridge, Goole. There were two juveniles with Brown. Brown was brought to justice with the help of local members of Farmwatch. He pleaded guilty to an offence under the …

Hare coursers snared by police officers using night vision goggles

14th May 2021 A pair of hare coursers were caught hiding in a hedgerow by police officers wearing high-tech night vision goggles. Officers were called to private land in Sharrington, near Melton Constable, at around 11.30pm on September 16, 2020, to reports of men with dogs. Police arrived to discover a silver Citroen car with …

Epic escape fail for ‘armed thieves’ who crashed car into ditch

10th May 2021 Three suspected armed thieves, aged between 18 and 25, failed to outsmart officers and a police helicopter after crashing their 4x4 into a ditch. The trio were reportedly involved in harecoursing, making off without payment from a pub and threats to the public in south Cambridgeshire on Saturday (May 8). Officers were …

Three men from Surrey and East Hampshire convicted of hare coursing

10th March 2021 Three men from Surrey and East Hampshire convicted of hare coursing following a 17 month police investigation. The incident happened back in 2019 on a farm in West Hanningfield in Essex. A farmer called Essex Police to report that four men with lurcher dogs were walking across his land and were believed …