Volunteer drones expose catapult-wielding poachers on farmland
Police have tracked down a driver after volunteer-operated drones captured people firing ball bearings at pheasants while driving across private farmland in Hampshire.
The incident happened near Linkenholt, in north Hampshire, on 7 October, when individuals were filmed using catapults to target birds before leaving the area in a vehicle.
The footage, captured by trained civilian drone operators working alongside Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, helped officers identify a 29-year-old man from Dibden Purlieu, in the New Forest.
The man, who was driving the vehicle, was dealt with through a community resolution and required to complete a victim awareness course.
He was also issued with a Community Protection Notice Warning in relation to his behaviour.
The incident was captured on video, with the footage showing individuals targeting pheasants from a vehicle as it travelled across farmland.
Watch the drone footage showing pheasant poachers on Hampshire farmland here.
The incident marks an early example of how a pioneering volunteer drone scheme is being used to support police tackling poaching and other rural offences.
Launched in September, the project is believed by Hampshire Police to be the first of its kind nationally, allowing specially trained members of the public to assist officers responding to crimes in the countryside.
Five volunteers are currently involved in the pilot, having completed a specialist drone operators' course.
Using the GoodSAM app, police control room staff can alert volunteers to incidents in progress, enabling them to provide aerial surveillance and gather footage that may assist investigations.
The initiative is intended to improve the police response to offences including poaching, hare coursing and burglaries affecting rural properties.
Inspector Stu Ross, who is leading the project, highlighted the impact of such offences on agricultural communities when the scheme launched.
"Rural criminals cause continued misery to farmers, landowners, gamekeepers and estate owners across the county, and indeed across the country," he said.
The project has received funding from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones, Test Valley Borough Council and the North Wessex Downs National Landscapes' Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.
It comes amid continued police activity targeting poaching and wildlife crime across northern Hampshire.
On 16 October, the force announced that five Community Protection Warnings had been issued following two separate rural crime operations, during which officers also seized catapults and other items associated with poaching.
Police said the operations followed reports of suspicious behaviour and wildlife being targeted in rural areas.
The volunteer drone scheme is designed to complement existing enforcement measures, including police drones, automatic number plate recognition cameras and specialist rural crime officers.
The force hopes to expand the initiative if the pilot proves successful.