Hare courser banned from having a dog off its lead for 10 YEARS in Bedfordshire
A man has been given a strict 10-year court order which bans him from having a dog off-lead and carrying a catapult or air weapon.
Jimmy Lee, aged 22, was given the criminal behaviour order (CBO) after being involved in anti-social behaviour linked to hare coursing.
And the ban covers the whole of Bedfordshire – as well as Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire
The order – given to Lee at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Tuesday (2 June) – states he must:
Not be in possession of, be in control of, or be in the company of any dog on private land without the owner’s written permission
When in possession of, in control of, or in the company of any dog, it must be on a lead
Not be in a vehicle with any dog, whilst outside of a five-mile radius of his home in Devon or his mobile home when working away, unless for a pre-arranged veterinary appointment
Not be in possession of a catapult or shot, such as ball bearing, and/or an air weapon or any part of an air weapon, in a public place
Lee, of Sandhurst, Berkshire, was arrested in December for breaching a community protection notice (CPN), after he was caught being involved in anti-social behaviour linked to hare coursing on numerous occasions across Fenland and Lincolnshire in 2025.
He was fined £200 after admitting the offence at the same court on February 17.
PC Pete Mills, from the Cambridgeshire Police’s rural crime action team, said: “Lee was initially given a community protection warning in January after he was caught hare coursing. However, he breached it in September, resulting in a CPN being imposed and eventually his arrest two months later.
“We use these warnings as a way to impose conditions on individuals and give them the chance to stop the behaviour. If they fail to do so, further action can be taken through arrests and putting them before the courts.”