Forces unite to tackle illegal crimes against wildlife

4 May 2022

A Suffolk Police Federation member has told how teaming up with fellow forces across the region to target gangs illegally killing wildlife has resulted in a dramatic drop in offending.

Sergeant Brian Calver, who is a member of the Rural and Wildlife Team, has explained how seven forces across the Eastern region have come together to successfully tackle hare coursing.

The blood sport, which involves betting on the chasing of hares, was banned in 2004, with the law coming into force in 2005. Over the past five years especially, Brian says they have noticed a rise in the number of illegal incidents that have taken place across the country.

“Over the past few years, hare coursing has got worse and worse. It was very clear that the offenders had no regard for the damage they were causing, or the safety of the public,” explained Brian.

Hare coursing traditionally begins in September when the fields have been harvested, making them the perfect ground for the illegal sport. It often involves four-by-four vehicles, being used to drive the fields, seeking out hares, before releasing dogs to chase them, causing severe damage to the crops, and disrupting the community as they do so.

“It’s clear that the offenders get a thrill from watching the hares being killed, and what’s more, they were getting a thrill from being challenged and chased by the police,” added Brian.

“And the sport was leading to acts of violence against farmers too. We’d heard of guns being pulled on farmers who challenged them. These people were not only harming animals, but they were becoming a danger to our communities. In some ways, the actual hare coursing was becoming a side issue.

“These people are lawless. They don’t care about others.

“It’s always been a challenge to gather evidence against those involved, but by removing county borders with the ASB legislation we’re using, this gives us a significant advantage, making it easier to bring those involved to justice.”

However, after Cambridgeshire took the lead on this scheme, forces across the East began working together and sharing information, making it easier to build a stronger case for prosecution and harder for perpetrators to offend in the future.

The result was that offenders living in one area but committing crimes in another could be prosecuted from wherever across the region.

They can be served with Community Protection Warnings (CPWs), Community Protection Notices (CPNs) and Criminal Behavioural Orders (CBOs).

“We were seeing the same offenders commit crimes across the country, yet we couldn’t stop them. They were almost sticking their middle finger up to the police. They were mocking us,” said Brian.

“Since working together, we’ve seen a significant reduction in offending and when we explain to offenders the area covered by this scheme, it’s quite clear that they are impacted by it, which is good to see.”

Brian explains that as well as seeing numbers drop, tackling offenders together has helped free up police time and reduced the damage caused to crops across the region.

“I don’t think we’ll ever fully stop hare coursing, but it’s definitely got easier to tackle offenders, now we’re working together,” he added.

“And those poor farmers, they’ve been living on the edge, never knowing when the next gang of criminals will turn up on their land.”

Brian, who has been in the Force for 24 years, says he is passionate about giving animals, like hares, a voice.

“Just because these are crimes against wildlife, it doesn’t mean they’re victimless,” Brian said.

“These animals are being ripped apart and their homes destroyed – if it was a person, they could speak up. Animals don’t have a voice. We are their voice, and these offenders deserve to be punished.”