Farmers impacted by hare coursing are being asked to contribute to public consultation on sentencing guidelines.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is running a public consultation on the sentencing guidelines following pressure from various organisations including the NFU and National Rural Crime Network (NRCN) Its 2024 research showed that hare coursing was one of the key activities carried out by criminal gangs.
One of those impacted by hare coursing was NFU Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire Chair Freya Morgan.
Mrs Morgan, who farms near Bedford, told of her own experiences of being a victim of hare coursing on many occasions. In 2020, Mrs Morgan spent around £12,000 on increased security to protect her north Bedfordshire farm, including erecting about 50 lockable gates, installing a £4,000 electric entrance gate and digging ditches around the farm to limit vehicle access.
She, and other farmers in the county, even resorted to hiring private security firms to carry out night time patrols.
Mrs Morgan said: “This has made a difference, but the problems are still there. We were hit by hare coursing again in December and we have seen in the news recently that hare coursing continues to be a major problem for many people.”
She added: “I did leave the conference feeling positive. I found it heartening to know there are people out there who are very passionate and determined to tackle the blight of hare coursing. There is a lot of work to be done but together we can achieve it.”
As there are no existing sentencing guidelines, the MoJ Council believes it would be helpful to the courts to provide consistency of approach in sentencing.
The 12-week consultation will close on April 25th. For more details visit; https://consult.justice.gov.uk/sentencing-council/hare-coursing-sentencing-guideline/
