Intense lobbying from farming and rural organisations has led the government to issue a new pledge to tackle illegal hare coursing.
Industry groups have been campaigning for tougher penalties to be sanctioned through an amendment to the Game Act 1831.
Campaigners have criticised the centuries-old legislation - one of the most significant laws intended to combat such crime - as 'outdated and archaic'.
But new proposals would give police and courts greater power to tackle offenders in the field, remove the tools of their trade and impose stiffer penalties at conviction.
Hare coursing, which often involves high-stakes illegal betting, causes thousands of pounds worth of damage to land and crops and sees many farmers intimidated.
After lobbying by groups such as the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and the NFU, the government has now pledged to crack down harder on the crime.
Defra outlined its intention to amend the Game Act 1831 and the Night Poaching Act 1828 to increase the maximum penalty available to an unlimited fine and up to 6 months’ imprisonment.
The department said it would also look at introducing a new criminal offence of ‘going equipped’ for hare coursing.
The police could also gain a new power that would able them to reclaim, on conviction, the costs of kennelling dogs seized in connection with hare coursing.
Mark Bridgeman, president of the CLA which represents 28,000 farmers and landowners, said the news felt like a 'real breakthrough' for the rural community.
"If government can pursue its promise of enforcing harsher penalties then this could be instrumental in deterring hare coursing from taking place," he said.
“Many of our members live in fear of being targeted as we know how vicious the people that take part in this type of rural crime can be.
"A clamp down is long overdue, and it’s now looking more likely. We must now keep up the momentum to see this act amended.”
Other organisations which lobbied for amendments to the Game Act 1831 included the RSPCA, the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the Countryside Alliance.
