Organised crime gangs are invading farms and intimidating the owners to stage illegal hare coursing events, a shocking investigation has revealed.
The mobs, often clad in military clothing and balaclavas, smash their way on to farmland to unleash lurchers or greyhounds on wild hares – a bloodsport for which prizes can fetch £50,000 and the coveted ‘Super 8 Cup’.
Hare coursing, in which dogs acquire points both for a kill and for how often they make their prey twist and turn during the chase, was banned in the UK in 2005.
But police say the involvement of organised crime gangs has, in recent years, seen a tenfold increase in the secret events.
Two years ago, children in Awbridge, Hampshire, arrived at school to find 20 hare and rabbit carcasses, as well as the beheaded body of a deer, dumped outside the building.
Seven miles north, 50 dead hares were strewn near the entrance of Broughton’s village shop. A dead barn owl and kestrel were tied to the door handle, too.
One landowner told how he was confronted by a masked participant carrying a catapult loaded with ball bearings.
And in one of the largest events held last year, Cambridgeshire farmer Mathew Latta watched on as a dozen 4x4s raced across his field after passengers cut open iron gates with an angle-grinder.
The Village of Broughton in Hampshire is being terrorised by illegal poachers who taunt locals with sinister displays of animal corpses in public areas
Hare coursing was banned in the UK in 2005 – however police say the involvement of organised crime gangs has, in recent years, seen a tenfold increase
More than 70 people then brought out dogs, began hunting hares and started gambling on their kills, all while blasting loud party music.
Cambridgeshire Police believe participants travelled from across England and Wales and completed a 20-mile distraction route to reduce their chances of being caught – forcing other cars off the road and robbing a petrol station on the way.
Mr Latta told the BBC that he saw gang members in their cars watching kills through binoculars.
‘This was 100 per cent a properly organised coursing event, with competitors and competitive dogs,’ he said. ‘It was quite terrifying.’
His frightened seven-year-old daughter kept asking: ‘Are these men going to come inside, Daddy?’
The event lasted for around three hours and the criminals left behind four cars – one a burnt-out wreck. Cambridgeshire Police have since arrested more than 40 people and charged 25, several of whom have now been convicted.
In a search of one address, they discovered the 2ft-tall Super 8 Cup engraved with images of dogs and hares along with the names of previous winning owners.
A video obtained by the BBC showed a group of eight men drinking in a pub as they haggled over the price of the 2025 Super 8 Cup champion. The lurcher was eventually sold for £55,000.
Freedom of Information requests to police show there have been 9,000 reports of hare coursing over the past three years.
Chief Inspector Kevin Lacks-Kelly, head of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, told the BBC: ‘Some of these lads are making a fortune. You’ve got some of the country’s best-organised criminals. They’re like a small army.’
