Hare coursing falls by a third after borderless success

Hare coursing across the East of England has fallen by almost a third thanks to the success of a “borderless” scheme among police forces.

The crackdown on rural crime comes after Suffolk Constabulary teamed up with six other police forces in September.

Incidents of hare coursing across the seven force areas fell from 2044 in 2020-2021 to 1415 in 2021-2022, a drop of 31%.

Borders between the forces – Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent – were removed when using certain tactics, which has made apprehending and prosecuting offenders easier.

The agreement, completed with the support of the Crown Prosecution Service, means the forces become one when using certain powers.

Over the past six months this has helped with the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), and the sharing of all interactions and movements of people suspected to be involved in hare coursing.

The move also supports the ongoing national initiative against hare coursing – Operation Galileo.

Sergeant Brian Calver, from Suffolk Rural and Wildlife Team, said: “Hare coursing is a huge issue for farmers and landowners with many people living in fear of these criminals. This illegal activity damages property, threatens people’s incomes and subjects people to fear and intimidation as well as causing unnecessary harm to our wildlife.

“Our tactics, together with the issuing of Community Protection Warnings (CPWs), Community Protection Notices (CPNs) and the granting of Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) has seen a region-wide reduction of coursing incidents by almost a third.

“This is a great achievement by all seven forces and the CPS. Our collaboration shows how determined we are to tackle the barbaric actions of a few that cause significant physical and mental harm to those in our rural communities. We will continue with the collaboration and continue to work together to further reduce illegal coursing, lamping and poaching.”

Hare coursing traditionally begins in September when the fields have been harvested and ploughed, making them the perfect ground for the illegal blood sport. Hare coursing causes damage to crops, harms animal welfare and threatens the rural community. It can result in intimidation and even violence. Landowners are urged to consider blocking entrances to their fields with ditches, fencing or trees or even barriers like barrels filled with concrete.

Anyone who sees hare coursing taking place is asked to contact police immediately on 999 and provide officers with a description of the people involved, any registration numbers, vehicle descriptions and the location and direction of travel. Its important people don’t confront hare coursers or put themselves at risk.

If you have information about hare coursing and it’s not currently happening, or have been a victim of the crime, please call 101 or report online.

If a crime is in progress call 999.