Keep out of our county, hare coursers told

People who travel to Lincolnshire to kill hares for fun have been told they are not welcome.

Lincolnshire Police has launched its annual campaign to target the illegal blood sport, which it describes as "barbaric".

According to the force, officers have seized 126 dogs, a firearm, 51 phones and 12 cameras in the past five years.

Insp Chris Davis said farmers faced "unacceptable" crime, violence and intimidation.

Officers believed hare coursers were "involved in other criminal activity”, he added.

Under Operation Galileo, the force’s rural crime action team are searching for hare coursers using marked and unmarked vehicles, motorbikes and drones.

Det Con Aaron Flint said hare coursing caused “cruelty to the animal and fear to the community”.

“It’s a really important operation, it needs to continue, we’ve made some real strides” he added.

Since 2022, officers have had the power to arrest people going equipped to carry out hare coursing. During the 2023-24 coursing season, police made 13 arrests.

Offenders can be banned from driving, and have their vehicles and dogs seized.

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