8th May 2024
Three men have pleaded guilty to multiple hare coursing offences and have been ordered to pay over £1000 in fines, following their appearance at Hull Magistrates Court on Wednesday 3 April and Friday 5 May in connection with an incident in November 2023.
All three men pleaded guilty to hunting wild mammals with dogs, trespassing with intent to search for or to pursue hares with dogs, being equipped to trespass with intent to search for or to pursue hares with dogs, and trespassing on a railway.
Joel Miller, aged 27, of Rhyl, North Wales has also been fined £199, issued a community order, required to undertake 120 hours unpaid work, and disqualified from driving for 42 days.
James Callaghan, aged 46 of Cliveden Road, Chester was also fined £199, issued a community order, required to undertake 120 hours unpaid work, excluded from entering the East Riding of Yorkshire for 12 months, as well as a forfeiture order for the destruction of recording devices.
Connor Waring, aged 25, of Surrey Road, Chester has also been fined £624.
On Sunday 5 November 2023, officers were called to land near Rawcliffe Bridge following reports of a group of men hare coursing.
The rural task force was deployed and using a Humberside Police drone and high powered 4×4 vehicles, all three men were located with dogs described as running dogs on the land without permissions and arrested at the scene.
Rural Crime Officer PC Sam Blakeborough leading the investigation said: “I am really pleased with the outcome at court as we have continued in our targeted activity to disrupt and combat hare coursing in our communities.
“For Callaghan, the exclusion from entering the East Riding of Yorkshire is a first for Humberside Police outside any Criminal Behaviour order.
“I hope this outcome sends a message to those who wish to conduct hare coursing activity that Humberside is a no-go area and that the Rural Task Force seek to take robust action to deter and prosecute those committing these types of offences.
“I would once again like to thank the members of the public, local landowners and the local farmwatch for supporting this prosecution and assisting so greatly in bringing these offenders to justice.
“I would always encourage those who are victims or rural crime to come forward and be assured that we will support them with pursuing offenders, securing convictions and making our rural areas safer to live and work.”
Their fines should have been 5x more, hit them in their wallet and they will grumble and quit doing this. The sad thing is, if they had not been caught they would have done it again. Cruelty does not make you a man, it makes you a coward.