Latest news with #HuntingAct2004
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Two men issued fines for hare coursing
Two men have been fined after they were found guilty of hare coursing in Lincolnshire. Edward Connors, 24, and Jerry Connors, 19, both of Rectory Lane, Woodmansterne, Banstead, Surrey, were arrested and charged after an incident in Crowland in March 2023. The pair, and two others, were found guilty of hunting a wild mammal with dogs and trespass during a trial in December 2023. Warrants for their arrests were later issued and they were sentenced at Lincoln Magistrates' Court on 29 May. Lincolnshire Police said officers had been called out on Sunday 12 March 2023 to reports of four men hare coursing. Witnesses reported seeing the men walking across fields with one driving a blue Daihatsu Terios 4x4 through newly planted crops. Following a short chase, the four members of the group were arrested. The pair were both individually fined £875 and ordered to pay £4929.83 compensation and a £350 victim surcharge. 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 Hare coursing is illegal throughout the UK. The Hunting Act 2004, makes it an offence to hunt wild mammals with dogs Source: Lincolnshire Police Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. What is hare coursing and what impact does it have? Farmers fear criminal hare coursing gangs 'could kill someone' Keep out of our county, hare coursers told Lincolnshire Police
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Surrey men fined after Lincolnshire hare coursing incident
Two men have been fined after they were found guilty of hare coursing in Connors, 24, and Jerry Connors, 19, both of Rectory Lane, Woodmansterne, Banstead, Surrey, were arrested and charged after an incident in Crowland in March pair, and two others, were found guilty of hunting a wild mammal with dogs and trespass during a trial in December for their arrests were later issued and they were sentenced at Lincoln Magistrates' Court on 29 May. Lincolnshire Police said officers had been called out on Sunday 12 March 2023 to reports of four men hare reported seeing the men walking across fields with one driving a blue Daihatsu Terios 4x4 through newly planted a short chase, the four members of the group were pair were both individually fined £875 and ordered to pay £4929.83 compensation and a £350 victim surcharge. What is hare coursing? Coursers will walk along a field to frighten the hare into the openThe dog catches the hare and kills it by "ragging" it - shaking the animal in its teethThe dogs - usually greyhounds, lurchers or salukis - are on a slip lead, threaded so it can be easily releasedThe dead hare is usually left in the field or thrown in a ditchHare coursing is illegal throughout the UK. The Hunting Act 2004, makes it an offence to hunt wild mammals with dogsSource: Lincolnshire Police Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
The Independent
02-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trail hunting a ‘smokescreen' for illegal fox hunts, MP says in jail terms plea
Trail hunting is being used as a 'smokescreen' for illegal fox hunting, a Labour MP has warned as he called for jail terms if organisers flout the rules. Perran Moon called for a ban on the practice, when hunt organisers lay a trail using animal urine or a carcass for hounds and their followers to track. Environment minister Daniel Zeichner said the Government would launch a consultation on banning trail hunting later this year, in line with Labour's 2024 manifesto. 'I strongly believe it is time for us to come together and close this loophole once and for all,' Mr Moon told the Commons. He said: 'Banning trail hunting would be a positive step in safeguarding the UK's wildlife and habitats. 'We need to strengthen the Hunting Act 2004 to make sure it delivers the protection animals need, that means banning trail hunting, removing exemptions that enable illegal hunting, and introducing custodial sentences for those who break the law.' The MP for Camborne and Redruth later added: 'We must extend the time available for charge in illegal hunting cases, reverse the burden of proof of compliance with exemptions, and make hunting a notifiable offence (counted in crime statistics)'. He said these measures would 'make it easier to enforce the law and ensure that those who break it face the consequences', in response to Labour MP for Poole Neil Duncan- Jordan, who warned that 'effective reform must go beyond symbolic bans and address the entire framework enabling illegal hunting to carry on'. Mr Duncan-Jordan said: 'Whilst a pledge to ban trail hunting is welcome, I fear it could be insufficient. 'If legislation focuses solely on this term alone, hunts may adopt new euphemisms to exploit existing loopholes to continue their activities.' Earlier in the debate, Mr Moon said 'trail hunting has been used as a defence' when hunts and their organisers land in the criminal justice system, accused of hunting a wild mammal with a dog, as he described a 'disturbing reality – trail hunting is providing a smokescreen for illegal fox hunting'. Sir Julian Lewis, the Conservative MP for New Forest East, intervened in Mr Moon's speech and asked: 'Would it not then be possible for drag hunting to be used in some way as a cover once again for illegal fox hunting?' Mr Moon replied that he has 'no issue with drag hunting', when hunt organisers lay trails using artificial scents. He said 'the likelihood that there will be wild animals included in drag hunting is much, much smaller', because it does not use real animal urine or carcasses. Mr Zeichner told MPs that a consultation is due later this year, but he could not say when a ban would come into effect. 'I want to assure members that we are working to move this forward, and we will deliver a thorough consultation later this year to ensure that legislation brought forward is effective in practice and we understand its impact,' he said at the despatch box. The minister quoted figures from the League Against Cruel Sports, who found from November 2023 to March 2024, there were 526 reports of incidents of suspected illegal hunting, and 870 incidents of 'hunt havoc'. He added: 'We have heard that there are people in this house who will not welcome a change in the law, and I want to reassure members here today the Government recognises the contribution made to the rural economy by supporting professions such as farriers, vets and feed merchants, we will of course look closely at the impact any changes may make.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trail hunting a ‘smokescreen' for illegal fox hunts, MP says in jail terms plea
Trail hunting is being used as a 'smokescreen' for illegal fox hunting, a Labour MP has warned as he called for jail terms if organisers flout the rules. Perran Moon called for a ban on the practice, when hunt organisers lay a trail using animal urine or a carcass for hounds and their followers to track. Environment minister Daniel Zeichner said the Government would launch a consultation on banning trail hunting later this year, in line with Labour's 2024 manifesto. 'I strongly believe it is time for us to come together and close this loophole once and for all,' Mr Moon told the Commons. He said: 'Banning trail hunting would be a positive step in safeguarding the UK's wildlife and habitats. 'We need to strengthen the Hunting Act 2004 to make sure it delivers the protection animals need, that means banning trail hunting, removing exemptions that enable illegal hunting, and introducing custodial sentences for those who break the law.' The MP for Camborne and Redruth later added: 'We must extend the time available for charge in illegal hunting cases, reverse the burden of proof of compliance with exemptions, and make hunting a notifiable offence (counted in crime statistics)'. He said these measures would 'make it easier to enforce the law and ensure that those who break it face the consequences', in response to Labour MP for Poole Neil Duncan-Jordan, who warned that 'effective reform must go beyond symbolic bans and address the entire framework enabling illegal hunting to carry on'. Mr Duncan-Jordan said: 'Whilst a pledge to ban trail hunting is welcome, I fear it could be insufficient. 'If legislation focuses solely on this term alone, hunts may adopt new euphemisms to exploit existing loopholes to continue their activities.' Earlier in the debate, Mr Moon said 'trail hunting has been used as a defence' when hunts and their organisers land in the criminal justice system, accused of hunting a wild mammal with a dog, as he described a 'disturbing reality – trail hunting is providing a smokescreen for illegal fox hunting'. Sir Julian Lewis, the Conservative MP for New Forest East, intervened in Mr Moon's speech and asked: 'Would it not then be possible for drag hunting to be used in some way as a cover once again for illegal fox hunting?' Mr Moon replied that he has 'no issue with drag hunting', when hunt organisers lay trails using artificial scents. He said 'the likelihood that there will be wild animals included in drag hunting is much, much smaller', because it does not use real animal urine or carcasses. Mr Zeichner told MPs that a consultation is due later this year, but he could not say when a ban would come into effect. 'I want to assure members that we are working to move this forward, and we will deliver a thorough consultation later this year to ensure that legislation brought forward is effective in practice and we understand its impact,' he said at the despatch box. The minister quoted figures from the League Against Cruel Sports, who found from November 2023 to March 2024, there were 526 reports of incidents of suspected illegal hunting, and 870 incidents of 'hunt havoc'. He added: 'We have heard that there are people in this house who will not welcome a change in the law, and I want to reassure members here today the Government recognises the contribution made to the rural economy by supporting professions such as farriers, vets and feed merchants, we will of course look closely at the impact any changes may make.'
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Farmers fear criminal hare coursing gangs 'could kill someone'
Hare coursing has long roots in English history. Originally used for hunting, and later sport, it sees dogs chasing hares across rural fields. But once just a man and his dog, it has increasing become the "sport of choice" for criminal gangs, with speeding vehicles driven by men in balaclavas sweeping through the countryside. While police say the problem is being taken more seriously than ever before, some farmers are warning it is only a matter of time before someone is killed. "These are people who would quite happily wipe you off the face of the earth without a second glance," one farmer told the BBC. He and his wife have been describing the harrowing moment a hare coursing gang arrived after dark on their remote farm just off Salisbury Plain. "We could hear shouting and revving all over the place, our plan had been to go up the top of the hill to see how many there were and where, so we could give a better location to police," he said. The couple had not meant to confront the visitors, but they were quickly surrounded by half a dozen vehicles. "I got out and I started shouting and roaring at them, just how dare people come and do this to our business, to our home," the farmer said. "How dare you come and threaten us." In a video filmed by one of those involved, the gang can be heard taunting the couple and while some urge others to leave the farmer alone, ballbearings from slingshots can be heard hitting the side of the farmer's vehicle before it is rammed. The gang were using the farmer's field for the illegal sport of hare coursing - which was outlawed in the UK under the Hunting Act 2004 and which police forces across the country say is increasingly carried out by organised and dangerous criminals. The farmer's wife remained in the car on the phone to Wiltshire Police while the gang "rammed" them two or three times. "They didn't care if you had stood there or not, they would have just run you over," she said. The BBC has agreed not to identify the Wiltshire couple, who are still dealing with the trauma of what happened in November 2024. One man was initially arrested and later released, but with no faces to identify anyone and cloned number plates on the vehicles involved, the others got away. After the incident the farmer suffered a mental health crisis and said he briefly considered taking his own life - before quickly seeking support from a mental health helpline. The couple said they wanted to share their story so that people realise what rural communities are up against. "You feel very alone and isolated," the farmer's wife said. "When someone is screaming down the phone at 999 'hare coursing is going on', it is not some old boy with a dog, it is serious crime and these people are dangerous." The couple are full of praise for the local rural police team who have supported them, but said there are far too few officers assigned to looking into the problem. Another farmer, David Lemon, said hare coursing has become like "guerrilla warfare" in his area on the Wiltshire-Hampshire border. "We get visited by hare coursers probably every other day," Mr Lemon said. "There's been a huge increase in their willingness to commit violence to farmers and gamekeepers, anybody who tries to stop them doing what they do." Once the harvest has cleared the fields, the vast and remote chalk hills attract the hare coursers and poachers. The season runs from the end of the harvest until the spring, before the crops get too high. "In the old days they used to run away, now they run towards you," said the third-generation farmer, who worries where things are heading. "I just think a farmer will overreact, or they [the gangs] will think it's fun and games and take it too far," Mr Lemon said. "This is going to end in a mess and I genuinely think someone is going to be, dare I say, killed." "This is the reality of what rural communities are dealing with and they are terrified," said Claire Wright, from the Country Land and Business Association (CLA). The CLA represents thousands of small rural businesses and Ms Wright described to the BBC incidents of gamekeepers who have been beaten up. "One of our members had his nose broken with an iron bar when he just got in the way accidentally," she said. Another was spat at in the face by a man who claimed to have HIV, she added. The CLA said farmers can help protect their property by digging ditches to make it harder for vehicles to get onto fields, and it is urging communities to alert police and neighbours to anything suspicious. But police bosses are balancing resources against other serious crime - and because the official crime statistics do not specifically record hare coursing, there is little reliable data to establish the true scale of the problem. "The hardcore few are doubling down on their tactics, the crime they are committing is far more extreme than it used to be," said Ch Insp Kevin Lacks-Kelly, the head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit. "These are criminals and in their pastime this is their sport of choice", with the majority of those caught being linked to a wide range of other serious and organised crime, he added. The chief inspector said that betting rings and the selling of dogs can see "tens and tens of thousands of pounds" exchanging hands each time. His unit works with police forces across the country to improve training and coordinate responses, which he said is finally "lifting the lid on the criminal underbelly of hare coursing". Police forces like Wiltshire have been diverting more resources into tackling rural crime, with more than a dozen arrests for hare coursing in the first two months of this year. "We now have a completely different approach to rural crime than we've had for years," said Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Philip Wilkinson, who said it is now considered "a high priority". In practice, the PCC says, this means the small rural crime team "can now call on the whole force as their cavalry", from drones to road policing to armed response. Introducing a joint operation with Thames Valley, Hampshire and Gloucestershire police forces to target suspected offenders earlier this month, he added: "This is a national threat we are trying to deal with."Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Stolen farm vehicles funding drugs trade, says PCC Suspected hare coursers use catapults against farmers Worker hurt confronting suspected hare-coursers Tougher measures to tackle hare coursing in force Call for clampdown on illegal hare coursing Wiltshire Police
