Men sent out of Yorkshire after hunting down animals

FOUR men were booted out of Yorkshire after being reported for wildlife crimes, rural police said.

Officers were called to a field near Holderness over the weekend after the men were reportedly seen hare coursing.

Hare coursing is a blood sport in which people use dogs to chase rabbits and hares and it is illegal.

Despite this, it remains a commonly occurring crime in rural parts of East Yorkshire.

Officers from Humberside Police’s rural team posted on Facebook on Sunday, writing: “Following a report of hare coursing in the Holderness area, four males have been reported for wildlife crime offences, dispersed out of the Humberside area and vehicle seized.”

The force’s Operation Galileo has been clamping down on hare coursing in recent months, with the autumn and winter months often leading to a spike due to the bare fields providing the perfect grounds for chasing the creatures.

Sergeant Jenna Jones, of the Rural Taskforce, said: “The fields in our region remain bare while the crops begin to grow again and attract travelling criminals to set dogs onto hares for sport. It’s truly barbaric and the wildlife it targets stand no chance of mercy.

“Over the past few months we have stopped and issued dispersal orders to a number of people suspected of wildlife offences and seized their vehicles and dogs to prevent them being used against our precious wild animals.

“Officers are also looking to protect our ‘green lanes’, particularly in the central Wolds.”

The force has appealed for the public to be on the lookout for people committing rural crimes.