Two arrested on suspicion of hare coursing
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We have arrested two men on suspicion of hare coursing.
Officers were alerted to suspicious activity in a field in Broad Hinton on Friday (29/10) and witnessed a group of men in a field with several dogs. One of the dogs was chasing a hare.
When the group was approached by officers, some made off and two men, aged 32 and 23, were subsequently detained.
Two lurcher dogs and a Ford Ranger car have been seized under the Hunting Act.
The two suspects have since been released under investigation.
PC Marc Jackson said: “We take reports of hare coursing and other rural crimes extremely seriously. Where we find people engaging in this illegal activity, we will deal robustly with those we suspect of taking part in this cruel pursuit.
“As part of our commitment to tackling hare coursing, Wiltshire Police has signed up to Operation Galileo, a partnership of 24 police forces around the country to share information and intelligence on offenders who cause greatest harm to our rural communities.
“We are also working closely with those who live and work in our rural communities to continue to share information to allow us to stamp down on hare coursers and other crimes.”
- Over the last week the Rural Crime Team have seized a number of vehicles suspected to be linked to criminal damage and hare coursing incidents in the Marlborough downs area. Further enquiries are being conducted to try and identify who were using the vehicles and are liaising with neighbouring forces
To report a rural crime please call us on 101 or report online here.
You can also report crimes anonymously by calling CrimeStoppers on 0800 555111.
In an emergency always call 999.