Two males charged under new hare coursing legislation

Two males are the first to be charged in Lincolnshire under new hare coursing legislation.

The men were arrested in the Holbeach area after we received several reports of hare coursing in Gedney and West Pinchbeck on 25 August, 2022.

Darren Lee, aged 26, of Top Road, Barnacle, Coventry, and Ronnie Doughty, aged 21, of Newton Road, Rushden, Northamptonshire, were both charged with three counts of trespass with intent to search for or pursue hares. This is 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. 

They were also charged with one count each of hunting a wild mammal with a dog. Both men have been released on bail while investigations are ongoing and are due to appear at Boston Magistrates’ Court later this month.

Chief Inspector Steve Williamson, force lead for rural crime, said: “We now have in place our Rural Crime Action Team which is committed to bringing rural crime offenders to justice.

“We’d like to say thank you to the members of the community for reporting this incident to us, your assistance is vital to our investigations.

“The legislation these males were charged with only came into effect on last year, and they are the first offenders in the Lincolnshire area to be charged under this new act.”

The Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) were put in place to patrol and target rural crime including hare coursing, wildlife crime, arson, burglary and theft. They also offer crime prevention advice.

The key objectives for the team were set after consultation with our key partners and are documented in the Rural Community Safety Plan. You can read more about the team here: New Rural Crime Action Team formed | Lincolnshire Police (lincs.police.uk)

As part of our force priorities, we continue with Operation Galileo to tackle rural crime. Operation Galileo is supported by a total of 32 forces nationally and works with partner agencies to deter and disrupt criminality such as hare coursing.

We continue to investigate all reports of rural crime.

However, we want to warn members of the public not to approach anyone you suspect of hare coursing, and please do not put yourself at risk.

• If you see any live incidents of hare coursing taking place, please call us on 999, and note any vehicle descriptions or number plates, if you can.
• If you have any other information to help us tackle hare coursing in our county, please call us on 101 and quote