‘This could make a real impact’ - farmer leading national fight against hare coursing hopes courts will be given more powers

Following long-term lobbying from the NFU, the Sentencing Council has announced a consultation on the guidelines for the courts when dealing with hare coursing offences.

Hare coursing is where criminals organise for dogs to chase hares over farmland for large bets of money, costing farmers thousands of pounds in damage to the land.

Hare coursing is a major animal welfare concern, often leads to other crimes and can leave farmers feeling intimidated and unsafe in their own homes.

NFU Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire Chair Freya Morgan spoke last week to representatives from 30 police forces and 10 partner agencies at the Operation Galileo Hare Coursing Enforcers Conference, hosted by Leicestershire Police in conjunction with the Hare Preservation Trust.

Mrs Morgan, along with the NFU, worked with North East Bedfordshire MP Richard Fuller to give police greater powers to tackle hare coursing, with a change in coming into effect on August 1, 2022.

She said: “There has been some good progress, but more needs to be done.

“We need to see more arrests and more convictions.

“This consultation is a positive step forward and could make a real impact.

“There needs to be a better understanding of hare coursing and its impact across the whole criminal justice system, including all police officers, not just in the rural crime teams, as well as with police call handlers and magistrates.

“Hare coursing is a serious crime that impacts farmers financially and their mental health.

“With serious criminals operating on their land, often behaving in a very intimidating way, farmers don’t feel safe in their own homes. We feel that our children can’t walk freely around the farm for fear of who they might run into.

“On top of this, there is the serious animal welfare issue for both the hares and the dogs.

“The people involved in hare coursing are often involved in other criminal activities, looking for equipment and fuel to steal.”

Mrs Morgan, who farms near Bedford, told of her own experiences of being a victim of hare coursing on many occasions, when she spoke at the conference in Leicester.

Back in 2020, Mrs Morgan spent around £12,000 on increased security to protect her north Bedfordshire farm, including erecting about 50 lockable gates, installing a £4,000 electric entrance gate and digging ditches around the farm to limit vehicle access.

She, and other farmers in the county, even resorted to hiring private security firms to carry out nighttime patrols.

Mrs Morgan said: “This has made a difference, but the problems are still there.

“We were hit by hare coursing again in December and we have seen in the news recently that hare coursing continues to be a major problem for many people.”

She added: “I did leave the conference feeling positive.

“I found it heartening to know there are people out there who are very passionate and determined to tackle the blight of hare coursing.

“There is a lot of work to be done but together we can achieve it.”

The Sentencing Council’s consultation is now open and runs until April 4.

The proposals aim to ensure a consistent approach and cover four offences associated with the crime, including two introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 – trespass with intent to search for or pursue hares with dogs, and being equipped for searching for or pursuing hares with dogs.

NFU work helped to ensure these were included in the act, alongside unlimited fines and the option of a custodial sentence of up to six months for another hare coursing offence, trespass in the pursuit of game.

The NFU will make sure the concerns of members are fed into the consultation and that the courts are enabled to exercise the full scope of their powers.

* NFU members are encouraged to find out more and to take part in the consultation by going to: www.nfuonline.com/updates-and-information/hare-coursing-guidelines-consultation/

* The consultation is open to the wider public by going to: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/publications/item/hare-coursing-sentencing-guidelines-consultation/