29th March 2026
TWO convicted hare poachers in Chester will return to court next month to be sentenced for doing it again.
James Callaghan, 48, of Cliveden Road, and 27-year-old Connor Waring, of Sutton Road, both pleaded guilty to multiple charges at Chester Magistrates Court on Friday.
They pleaded guilty to knowingly permit dog to be used for hunting a wild mammal; trespass with intent to search for or to pursue hares with dogs; being equipped for searching for or pursuing hares with dogs and poaching.
The pair also admitted taking game on a Sunday.
Scott Woodward, prosecuting, said all offences took place on November 23, 2025 where a witness saw the two men trespass on land off Chester Road in Saighton.
They saw Callaghan and Waring enter the field on cameras used for checking animal welfare and they were witnessed using Saluki dogs, purpose made leads for slipping dogs and a thermal sight to check for hares.
The dogs were then witnessed chasing and bringing a hare down before police were called and the pair were arrested.
Mr Woodward added that both men had a previous like-for-like conviction for poaching in 2024.
Steve Coop, defending both, highlighted their previous convictions and said ‘it would be inappropriate for a lesser sentence than previous’, referring to a fine.
He asked magistrates to order a pre-sentence report and both men will return to be sentenced on April 24 in the afternoon to discover their fate.
https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/25974522.chester-magistrates-court-sentence-men-hare-hunting/
LOCK THE BASTARDS UP and on release make them do community work the hardest they can have.
What has Sunday got to do with it.
Strange outdated laws
Any day will do!
Sent from my Galaxy