Hare coursing gangs targeted in new Essex Police crackdown

Farmers terrorised by violent hare coursing gangs have welcomed a major Essex Police crackdown after months of escalating attacks, intimidation and crop damage across rural communities.

The new measures were announced during an NFU-organised meeting held on an arable farm near Dunmow following a surge in hare coursing incidents across the county.

Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington outlined plans for tougher enforcement including powers to seize all dogs linked to hare coursing, faster emergency responses, specialist rural crime deployments and targeted operations during peak coursing season.

The NFU says hare coursing is increasingly linked to organised criminal gangs involved in intimidation, violence, illegal gambling and wider rural crime.

One Essex farmer told police he had suffered more than 200 hare coursing incidents in just eight months and had been assaulted 11 times.

Farmer Matthew Register said the attacks had caused more than £30,000 worth of crop damage and left him fearing for his safety.

He told police and NFU representatives he had been locked inside a grain store to stop him calling officers during one incident, pinned against a tree, fired at with catapults and knocked off his bike while riding on the road.

The meeting took place on Mr Register’s farm, where fields have repeatedly been targeted by hare coursing gangs.

Attendees included Chief Constable Harrington, Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst and NFU regional and county farming leaders.

NFU vice-president Robyn Munt said farmers across Essex had been left deeply concerned by the rise in organised rural crime.

She said: “I was shocked to hear about the nightmare Matthew, and other Essex farmers have experienced with hare coursing gangs.”

Mrs Munt added: “Farmers can feel like sitting ducks and our rural communities need better protection.”

She welcomed the commitments made by Essex Police but stressed the importance of ensuring the promised actions were fully delivered.

Mrs Munt said the NFU would continue working closely with police to keep pressure on the issue both locally and nationally.

The new policing strategy includes additional officer training, specialist response units, drone deployments and improved access to 4x4 vehicles during peak hare coursing periods.

Police also pledged to treat reports of hare coursing in the same way as robberies in progress to improve response times and prioritise incidents more effectively.

A new Rural Independent Advisory Group will also be created to improve accountability, information sharing and engagement between police and farming communities.

Mr Register said speaking directly to senior officers had given him hope that stronger action would finally follow.

He said: “This will take time but if these actions come to fruition, we could see real change for the better.”

Chief Constable Harrington said there was a “huge amount of willingness to work together” between police and the farming community to tackle the issue.

Mr Hirst described the meeting as “very productive” and said a proactive action plan was now in place.

Hare coursers face tougher sentencing from next month as courts prepare 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 tougher guidelines build on powers introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and follow a 12-week public consultation.

Hare coursing involves organised gangs using dogs to chase hares across farmland, often for large illegal bets of money.

Research has linked hare coursing to offences including theft, money laundering, drugs, violent assault and intimidation.

Farmers say stronger enforcement cannot come soon enough as organised hare coursing gangs continue to leave rural communities living in fear.