Three men have been sentenced (Wednesday 18 January) in connection with hare coursing crimes in the Lothians and Scottish Borders. The men pled guilty to a total of six charges, which took place between December 2015 and February 2016, at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 19 December 2016. Niall Purves, now 36, of Edinburgh was convicted of […]

#Stoppoachinguk It is about this time of year between now and Christmas that landowners see a rise in the blight of poachers entering their land. Gone are the days of the merry country rogue, the poacher today can be armed with weapons and dogs, use intimidation and violence and are in it for greed and […]

Cumbria Constabulary has become the latest police force to sign up to Operation LEVIATHAN – the multi-agency initiative tackling fish theft and illegal fishing. The commitment creates an important link with other police forces in the North West and provides a huge boost to the fight against fish poaching in the county, which has led […]

A cutting-edge initiative to help tackle fisheries related crime has been launched by the Angling Trust in partnership with the Environment Agency. ‘Angling Alert’ is a web-based communication tool that will provide anglers and the wider public with information on fisheries crime quickly – by text or email. Funded by rod licence income, Angling Alert […]

The county’s police force said feedback from both farmers and those caught hare coursing said it was the greatest deterrent. Traditionally offences start to rise in the autumn after crops have been harvested and continue until spring. Last season, 176 men were arrested or reported for summons. Source: BBC To read the full article click […]

A fisherman has been ordered to pay back more than £100,000 that he made from fishing illegally in Christchurch Harbour. Shane Barton, 42, from Plymouth, was handed the confiscation order, which totalled £104,147, at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday, June 17. The order was the culmination of a multi-agency investigation following Barton’s arrest when he […]

A Tayside man caught hare coursing has been jailed for four months for taking part in the illegal bloodsport. Mark Reid, 45, Teviotdale Avenue, Dundee, was also banned from owning a dog for six years when sentenced at Perth Sheriff Court on Wednesday. Sheriff Lindsay Foulis heard that Reid, who was found guilty after a […]

“On 22 January 2016, John Michael Ginty, 25, and Marcus Owen Batey, 25, both from Middlesbrough, appeared at Northallerton Magistrates Court. Ginty pleaded guilty to killing a deer at night, under the Deer Act 1991, and hunting a wild mammal with dogs, under the Hunting Act 2004. He received a ten-week custodial sentence, suspended for […]

A joint wildlife crime operation took place in North Devon. On the 20 January 2016, officers from both Avon & Somerset and Devon & Cornwall Police along with staff from Devon and Somerset Trading Standards, Environmental Health and the National Wildlife Crime Unit visited nine premises in the Barnstaple area as part of a wildlife […]