Wet weather helps keep hare coursers at bay in Suffolk

The blood sport - which can be a magnet for illegal gambling - was banned in 2005 and went underground. It involves setting dogs to chase hares in fields - with the period after harvest often a high point.

But although incidents are well down in the county this season with numbers falling hugely from the highs of about five years ago, there are still signs that they have not gone away completely.

Farmer George Gittus, of Symonds Farm, at Risby, Bury St Edmunds, is convinced they struck on his farm over the 2023/24 festive period - although they weren't spotted at the time.

He suffered damage to a fence at an isolated spot near Hargrave after it was rammed by a vehicle. Tell-tale vehicle tracks suggested the perpetrators drove through the fence line onto his field.

"They just went through a post-and-rail fence," he said, adding: "It's just a petty aggravation by mindless thugs and yobs."

Mr Gittus has spent thousands of pounds bolstering the "defences" around his farm - including ditches and barriers - over recent years and that has deterred a lot of fly-tipping and hare coursing activity, he believes.

But putting barriers up on fields perimeters comes with its own frustrations, he said. It meant having to stop the farm vehicle and get out to remove them - sometimes causing irritation to other drivers, he said.

"It's just aggravation - it's just a nuisance. We have got a fence to repair now," he added.

Sergeant Brian Calver of Suffolk police's rural crime team said there have been 19 reports of hare coursing in the county since September 1, 2023. 

While some crimes or suspected crimes may be categorised under other headings such as criminal damage or suspicious vehicles or activity this is well down on five years when there were upwards of 130 to 150 incidents a year, he said.

The latest spate included one in which coursers were spotted at dusk during Storm Babet in October - but they fled the scene before police could apprehend them.

The weather has certainly not been in hare coursers' favour. In November, a vehicle used in a suspected hare coursing event in Mid Suffolk near the A140 got stuck in the mud. It was later towed away by the authorities and disposed of.

"The numbers are well down this year - I think the bulk of it's down to the weather," admitted Sgt Calver.

Suffolk Farmwatch co-ordinator Denise Thomas said incidents are noticeably down - including on the border between Suffolk and Essex where there were previously perceived weaknesses in the police response because of border issues.

"Thanks to the rapid response of the police, coordinated by their dedicated Rural Crime Team, and using our farmer network, we have been able to keep hare coursing incidents to a minimum in Suffolk, and many of the perpetrators have been charged," she said.

"Over recent years improved communication between the Suffolk and Essex forces has meant that the border between the two is now policed very effectively and is as a bad place to try illegal activity as it is throughout the rest of the county."

More than 300 farmers were part of a communication network now keeping an eye out for suspicious activity across Suffolk's rural areas, she said. 

"Everyone knows what to look out for and can get the police on their case immediately.  The police are very committed to stamping out this type of crime and have used all the resources available to them - including their helicopter - to do this," she added.