Hare coursing gang crackdown unveiled by Essex Police

Farmers in Essex have welcomed a renewed police crackdown on hare coursing gangs, after police unveiled a series of measures aimed at tackling the growing problem in rural communities.

The action plan was announced at an NFU-organised meeting held on an arable farm near Dunmow on 13 May, where farmers described the scale of intimidation, violence and damage caused by organised hare coursing gangs.

The new approach includes a commitment from Essex Police to treat reports of hare coursing with the same urgency as serious crimes such as robbery in progress.

See also: Hare coursing attacks leave Essex farmer fearing for safety

Farmers joined police for a hare coursing crackdown meeting at a farm in Dunmow, Essex © NFU

Chief constable Ben-Julian Harrington said officers responding to 999 calls would receive improved training to better understand hare coursing offences and the powers available to tackle them.

Police also pledged to ensure the most appropriate units are deployed to incidents, including guaranteeing access to 4×4 vehicles during peak hare coursing periods and increasing the number of trained drivers.

Drones will also be used more frequently to support operations, alongside requests for assistance from the National Police Air Service.

One of the strongest measures announced was the planned seizure of all dogs linked to hare coursing incidents – a move in line with new national policy and welcomed by farmers, who say offending gangs often target the same land repeatedly.

Suspected hare coursers in another area of Essex © Essex Police

Essex Police also confirmed targeted enforcement operations will take place at the start of the hare coursing “season” – usually after arable fields are left bare after harvest.

While a new Rural Independent Advisory Group will be created to improve communication, accountability and intelligence-sharing between police and rural communities.

The NFU said the measures could make a “real difference” for farmers who have long felt vulnerable and ignored.

Essex farmer Matthew Register, who has suffered more than 200 hare coursing incidents in eight months, said the meeting marked an important step forward.

Hare coursing, an illegal blood sport in which dogs are set on hares for betting, is increasingly linked to organised crime, violence, theft and drug offences, according to the police and the NFU.