Four people have been hit in the pockets and had their dogs confiscated after being found guilty of hare coursing in and around Gedney Dyke and Holbeach St Marks.
The four were stopped as they travelled in a black Ford Focus on Main Road, Gedney Dyke, just after 1.45pm on Thursday October 10, 2024.
Just fifteen minutes earlier, a call had been made to Lincolnshire Police’s Force Control Room, reporting men, a vehicle and dogs chasing prey on arable land at Holbeach St Marks; a remote and rural area of Lincolnshire.
Officers saw the black Ford being driven and pulled it over on Main Road, Gedney Dyke; there were five people in the vehicle and four sight hound dogs in the rear.
The number plate had been smeared in mud to make it unreadable.
Along with the four lurcher/greyhound dogs, slip leads, a camouflage jacket and mobile phones were seized.
“Don’t come to Lincolnshire hare coursing,” said PC Karen Irving of the forces Rural Crime Team. “The dogs were seized and because the four men refused to sign the dogs over, they have incurred £28,560 in kennelling and welfare fees. The court ordered they won’t be getting their dogs back.
“We will do everything we can to stop this vile offending. Protecting our rural communities and wildlife is what we are here for, every day, all year.”
Charges followed for being equipped for searching or pursuing hares. The men all pleaded not guilty but were found guilty at a trial at Lincoln District Magistrates’ Court on Thursday August 28
Elijah King, aged 20, and Joseph King, aged 41, both of Teston Road, Offham, West Malling, Kent and Elijah Moore, aged 44, Stonehurst Lane, Hadlow Down, East Sussex, were each fined £750. Charles Lee, aged 42, Polhill Park, Polhill, Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, was fined £1250.
They each must pay compensation of £7140 for kennelling and welfare costs.
All four men were handed a Criminal Behaviour Order banning them from entering, between July 31 and April 30 (recognised as hare coursing season), the county of Lincolnshire or any of the five counties under the East of England agreement with or in the company of anyone with dogs of any breed, (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire).
All four are not to be in any of the five counties under the East of England agreement with any instruments to be used for poaching, either during the day, or night-time.
A deprivation Order was made for four dogs, including two brindle greyhounds, a cream lurcher and a black and tan saluki greyhound, and a number of leads, slip leads and collars.
They must also pay CPS costs of £162.50 and a victim surcharge of £300 (£500 for Charles Lee)
The case against a 15-year-old boy was withdrawn.
