Five hare coursers arrested

SCOTS POLICE have arrested five people after an operation on an Aberdeenshire estate that has been plagued by hare coursers.

The Fasque Estate, in Fetercairn, the home of former Prime Minister, William Gladstone, has been targeted by coursers pursuing brown hares and inflicting severe damage to the estate in the process, reports The Times.

Although the Wild Mammals Protection (Scotland) Act 2002 prohibits the deliberate hunting of a wild mammal with a dog there has been a growing rise in hare coursing on Tayside and Grampian.

On the Fasque Estate alone there has been more than 20 formal complaints in the past five months, according to the paper.