New law sees hare coursers ordered

to pay £12,000

Two men have been ordered to pay more than £12,000 after appearing in court charged with hare coursing offences under new laws.

Darren Lee, 26, and Ronnie Doherty, 21, were the first people to be convicted in Lincolnshire under new and tougher legislation introduced in August last year.

The pair were ordered to pay an equal share of £11,144 kennelling and veterinary costs for four sighthounds which officers seized from them on 25 August, when they appeared at Boston Magistrates Court on 7 March.

The men were initially arrested in the Holbeach area after we received several reports of hare coursing in Gedney and West Pinchbeck on 25 August, 2022. They were released on police bail and later charged.

Both men were also ordered to permanently forfeit the dogs and disqual- ified them from owning or keeping dogs for five years, suspended until March 31 to enable them to rehome their pets.

They both pleaded guilty to two charges of trespass with intent to pursue hares with dogs.

New legislation

The charges follow new legislation that came into force on 1 August last year, which makes 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.

The new law also allows courts to order a reimbursement of the costs of kennelling which is paid for by the police.

NFU county adviser Johanna Musson, said: “This is tremendous news and a landmark conviction. On behalf of farmers, some of whom have been terrorised by hare coursing, we offer a huge thank you to Lincolnshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for their work on this case.

“This has been the culmination of extensive local and national lobbying from the NFU, working with the police and the PCC, for harsher sentences and increased police powers to tackle this barbaric activity that has plagued the Lincolnshire countryside for too long.

“We now have a genuine deterrent to hare coursers – if you come here, you’ll have your dogs, cars and equipment seized and receive a hefty fine.”

The men were also both fined £416 for each of two offences and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £166 and prosecution costs of £85. An order for the forfeiture and destruction of a thermal scope used to detect body heat of hares was also made.