Trio ordered to pay more than £52,000 after hare coursing in Lincolnshire

Three men have been ordered to pay more than £52,000 and had a car and dogs seized for illegally hunting hares.

Samuel Sheady Snr, Samuel Sheady Jnr and Jason Davis, were arrested after abandoning their car when they crashed into a fence as they were pursued by police in Lincolnshire.

They had been seen hare coursing in the Shoff Drove area, near Donington, and also in Kirton.

Their car had damaged a farmer's crops as they followed their animals across fields.

Officers found four dogs in the boot of the car, including one wearing a tracker around his neck.

All three men pleaded guilty to being equipped for hare coursing and were ordered to pay kennelling fees, fines and costs totalling more than £52,000.

Their VW Toureg car was confiscated along with the two dogs.

All three men were banned from driving for 12 months and given 10-year criminal behaviour orders banning them from entering private land with hare coursing dogs in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire.

Hare coursing involves releasing dog to chase a hare. The chase is often recorded for gambling purposes or for the status of having a good hare coursing dog for breeding.

PC Chris Windsor-Beck, from Lincolnshire's rural crime action team, said: “This sends out a clear message to anyone thinking of coming to Lincolnshire to carry out such a cruel activity such as hare coursing. We will simply will not accept this barbaric activity and anyone who comes to the county hare coursing can expect to face the full force of the law.

“I would like to thank members of our rural community in helping to tackle hare coursing by reporting incidents, and to feel confident action will be taken if reported to the police.”

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