Courts handed tougher powers to tackle hare coursing offences

Hare coursers face tougher sentencing from next month as courts move to crack down on a crime rural communities say is causing growing fear, damage and intimidation across the countryside.

New sentencing guidelines published by the Sentencing Council will come into force on 1 June 2026, introducing stronger measures designed to reflect the “real harm” hare coursing causes to farmers, wildlife and rural communities.

The changes follow reforms introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and come after a 12-week public consultation.

Four offences linked to hare coursing are covered under the new framework, including trespass with intent to search for or pursue hares with dogs, being equipped for hare coursing activity, daytime trespass in search of game and taking or destroying game at night.

Courts will now be encouraged to treat factors such as social media footage, offending in the presence of children and breaches of community protection notices more seriously when determining sentences.

The guidance also recognises the growing role social media plays in filming, promoting and glorifying hare coursing activity online.

New powers introduced under the 2022 legislation are also highlighted, including Dog Disqualification Orders and Recovery Orders.

These measures allow courts to ban offenders from owning dogs and force them to repay costs linked to the seizure and detention of animals.

His Honour Judge Simon Drew KC, a member of the Sentencing Council, said the consultation had demonstrated the strength of feeling surrounding hare coursing offences.

“Illegal activities associated with hare coursing cause real harm — to wildlife, to property, to farmers and their families and to the wider rural communities that often deal with the repercussions of this aggressive crime,” he said.

“The strength of feeling we heard through our consultation made clear just how seriously this issue is felt.”

He added that the new rules would ensure courts had “the tools to reflect that harm in sentencing”.

Campaigners and police forces have long argued sentencing for hare coursing offences varied too widely between courts.

During consultation, respondents highlighted the serious impact hare coursing can have on wildlife, farmland and countryside communities, even where offences involved relatively small groups.

Rural groups warned hare coursing incidents often leave damaged crops, distressed livestock and intimidated farming families in their wake.

Following consultation feedback, the Sentencing Council dropped earlier proposals suggesting larger groups should automatically receive harsher treatment than lone offenders.

The final guidance instead places greater emphasis on the wider harm caused to animals, habitats and agricultural land.

Courts will now be directed to consider distress, injury and loss of life to animals alongside serious damage to crops, property and wildlife habitats when assessing harm levels.

The most serious offences will now carry sentencing starting points of up to 18 weeks in custody.

The revised measures also strengthen references to compensation and confiscation orders.

Chief Inspector Kevin Lacks-Kelly, Head of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, welcomed the changes and said they would help improve consistency in sentencing nationwide.

“I welcome these guidelines and I am confident we can continue to improve the Policing response to Hare Coursing and know that consistent justice will follow,” he said.

He added that the guidance would help deliver “more proportionate and consistent sentencing” across the UK.

Claire Wright, the Country Land and Business Association’s national lead on poaching and hare coursing, said the tougher measures were badly needed.

“Hare coursing is a brutal crime with far-reaching consequences, so we welcome the new sentencing guidelines,” she said.

“Coursing impacts not only wildlife but also the safety, wellbeing and livelihoods of those living and working in the countryside.”

She added that courts must “deliver the strongest sentences possible to send out a clear message to offenders”.

The tougher guidance reflects growing pressure from rural organisations and police forces for hare coursing to be treated as a serious organised rural crime rather than low-level trespass.