‘Hare hunters’ get first-ever charges

Nature lovers have welcomed news that two men are among the first to be charged under new laws to protect our “mad as March” hares.

The pair, aged 26 and 21, from Coventry and Northamptonshire, are accused of three counts of trespass with intent to search for or pursue hares in Lincolnshire, as well as one count of hunting a wild mammal with a dog. They are due to appear before magistrates in Boston this month.

Lincolnshire is a hotspot for hare coursing, where gangs gather to place bets on whose dogs succeed in chasing and killing the animals.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, which passed into law on Aug 1 last year, made it an offence to go equipped for, search for, or pursue hares with dogs, and an offence to trespass with intent to search for or pursue hares with dogs. Those convicted of doing so face an unlimited fine and up to six months in prison.