Prolific poacher receives Criminal Behaviour Order

One of the north of England’s most prolific poachers has been handed a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO). Ryan Thomas Spence, from Redcar and Cleveland, has a long history of poaching offences from Norfolk to Scotland and was given the

CBO for poaching, after being found guilty of hunting wild mammals with dogs at yet another court hearing.

In 2017, a Scottish court fined Spence £1,320 after he was caught with blood on his jacket and inside a rucksack he was carrying. Nearby, police found seven dead hares. They were still warm and had fresh injuries.

The new order places sweeping restrictions on Spence, including banning him from trespassing on any land with a dog or firearm; straying from any public right of way on to any land; being in a motor vehicle other than on a publicly maintained road without written permission of the landowner; and being part of a group involved in the hunting of any wild mammals with dogs.

Inspector Clive Turner of North Yorkshire Police commented: “Ryan Spence has caused significant harm to our rural communities over a number of years.

“I am pleased that he has now faced the courts and we have been successful in having the Criminal Behaviour Order granted.”

Spence had already been fined for poaching hares in Scotland