Hare poaching crackdown crosses the finish line

A multi-year campaign culminated as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill has received Royal Assent, after the Countryside Alliance and others finally persuaded the Government to amend it to give the police and courts new powers to combat the blight of hare poaching.

These include removing the cap on fines and raising the maximum prison sentence to six months. Courts will be able to disqualify offenders from owning a dog, and order that the police be paid the costs of kennelling dogs seized in connection with offences. There will also be a new criminal offence of trespassing with intent to pursue a hare.

Together with other rural organisations such as the Country Land and Business Association and the NFU, we campaigned for these measures for over four years. In June 2021 Defra announced that it accepted the argument and planned to take action, but we were dismayed when the Police Bill, which seemed the ideal vehicle, contained no such provisions and the Government initially opposed attempts to bring them in by amendment.

However, after tenacious campaigning in the House of Lords led by the Bishop of St Albans with our support, the Government relented and its own new amendment delivered all the essentials of what we had sought. The Bill has since passed through the House of Commons and the 'ping pong' process of reconciling its amendments with those of the Lords completed yesterday. Royal Assent was received today as Parliament prorogued.

The Secretary of State will now need to fix an implementation date for the measures on hare poaching. We urge her to set this well in advance of this year's 'season', beginning just after the harvest. The Countryside Alliance will then monitor compliance closely, working with Police and Crime Commissioners, officers and other rural groups to ensure that the rules are rigorously enforced, and prosecutions are brought where necessary.