Jailed, hare coursing thug who was trapped by his own dog’s DNA
A MAN yesterday became the first person in Scotland to be jailed thanks to DNA evidence taken from a hunting dog.
Colin Stewart was handed a fourand-a-half month sentence after he and two others were caught using dogs to hunt hares.
Stewart, friend Raymond Higgins and a 16-year-old were reported to police by witnesses, a court heard.
Police found the three dogs they were using and took swabs for DNA analysis, while a post-mortem examination carried out on the hare they had killed found DNA matching one of the dogs.
Fiscal depute Fiona Caldwell said Stewart also took hares with dogs at locations across Scotland, including the island of Tiree. Police later examined a video camera found in a van at Ladywell Farm, on the outskirts of Kirriemuir, Angus, and found footage of the incident.
Miss Caldwell said the men had been engaged in ‘cruel sport’ when police intervened.
She told Forfar Sheriff Court: ‘At approximately 8.30am on March 27, a witness aged 76 was at home when he became aware of [Stewart] setting a dog on a hare at Ladywell.
‘The witness was also aware of a vehicle, a Ford Focus which was being driven and was associated with the people in the field. This was driven by Raymond Higgins.’
Police attended and stopped the people in the van nearby, where they claimed they were searching for a missing dog.
Miss Caldwell added: ‘It was then put to them that persons matching their description were seen coursing hares earlier, which they vehemently denied.
‘They were noticeably evasive after that point.’
Two of the three dogs were in the van and Colin Stewart
‘Noticeably evasive’
asked to retrieve the third, which was in some nearby trees.
Miss Caldwell added: ‘Shortly afterwards he made good his escape from the trees and was not traced.’
Additional units and a police dog were called in to trace Stewart but he was not found.
The police later found footage of the Aberdeen men ‘posing’ with dead hares and discussing the Kirriemuir incident on a video camera, and ‘extensive evidence’ that Stewart and the teenager had been involved in previous offences. Higgins, 45, and Stewart, 31, both of Aberdeen, and a 16-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted hare coursing charges.
Sheriff Pino di Emidio jailed Stewart for 135 days while the teenager was given a community payback order with one year’s supervision.
Both were banned from having custody of any dog for a year. Higgins was fined £400.
Detective Chief Superintendent Sean Scott, of Police Scotland’s Specialist Crime Division, said: ‘This is an excellent example of partnership working to secure a conviction.
‘The public have also played a major part in this investigation by providing such detailed descriptions and accounts of the incident.
‘Police Scotland is committed to tackling wildlife crime and our detection rates are increasing. Investigating wildlife crime can be difficult because of the nature of the crimes and the terrain where crimes occur.
‘Hare coursing where dogs chase the animal is a particularly violent crime. Public awareness is crucial in helping us tackle crimes like poaching and hare coursing. And working with partners we will continue to bring those who commit wildlife crime to justice.’
Dr Lucy Webster, head of the Wildlife DNA Forensics Unit at government body Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture, said: ‘This case demonstrates the power of animal DNA in wildlife crime investigation.’