The hidden toll of Hare Coursing

Earlier this year we asked CLA members to take part in a research survey about the impact that illegal hare coursing had on their businesses; these survey results fed into a podcast series for Radio 4. In this blog we delve into the full story that we uncovered with this work.

Unsurprisingly 96% of the survey respondents were aware of illegal hare coursing taking place in their local area, while 89% of the respondents had personal experience of illegal hare coursing activity affecting their own farm or rural business. This amounted to each respondent being targeted on average 26 times over the last five years – some had not been a victim in recent years, but many had been plagued with more than 100 incidents over the same period. Some stated in their response that there were too many to quantify.

Things got worse still when we asked how many of the respondents had received a threat of violence or any other form of threat or warning from illegal hare coursers. 54% of our respondents had received such threats. When asked if they were aware of friends and neighbours in their area being threatened by illegal hare coursers this percentage figure shot up to 72%.

70% of the respondents reported dead animals being left on or around the land. This is a tactic used to intimidate rural business owners. After all this sends a clear message that poachers can do what they want, when they want. These serious, organized criminals are not messing around.

One question that was optional to answer by respondents portrayed a countryside under siege – 24 respondents reported verbal abuse and threats; 11 had received threats to their premises including threats of committing arson; 6 had been the victims of vehicle ramming; a further 5 had experienced physical violence; 4 had been shot at with catapults, 3 had suffered actual damage to premises and 2 had their family pets threatened.

Despite the level of violence experienced only 52% of the respondents had reported incidents to the police. 80% of the respondents had spent money on farm security and crime prevention measures to protect their business from hare coursers. 51% of the respondents had spent between £1000-5000 on such measures; a further 23% had spent between £5000-10000 and 3% had spent more than £10,000.

Taken together, these findings tell the story of a countryside under siege. For too many rural businesses, illegal hare coursing is more than trespass or wildlife crime; it is a sustained campaign of intimidation carried out by organised criminals. The resilience of those affected is remarkable, but resilience should not be mistaken for acceptance. Rural communities deserve better, and the evidence from our members demonstrates why tackling hare coursing must remain a priority.