HARE COURSING AS A SPORT — HOW BARBARIC IS THAT — CHASING MAMMALS TO DEATH MUST BE STOPPED

Police are reporting that warm weather is contributing to a spike in hare coursing incidents. Hare coursing is a cruel and illegal bloodsport that involves the pursuit of hares with greyhounds as opposed to the harriers, beagles or bassets involved in hare hunting. It has been illegal since the passing of the Hunting Act in 2004. This barbaric 'sport' is often carried out for gambling purposes. Videos of greyhounds chasing hares are often used by gangs to make money from soliciting bets. Hare coursing typically involves two greyhounds. One particularly gruesome aspect of the practice is that it often results in a macabre tug of war, as the two dogs fight over the hare's mutilated body. In August 2022, Defra announced tougher sentencing for hare coursing, which was introduced as a result of the 2022 Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act. Nowhere to hide Hare coursing often takes place after crops have been harvested, as the lack of vegetation leaves hares vulnerable without many places to hide. Police Scotland told the BBC: "This year's warm summer and early harvest have led to increased reports of hare coursing in recent weeks." Some of the areas where hare coursing is known to take place are Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. 25 people charged with hare coursing At the end of July, Cambridgeshire Police charged 25 of an initial 43 people arrested for taking part in hare coursing on the Cambridgeshire Fens in January 2025. A spokesperson for the police force apologised for what he called their "failure" to deal with rural crime. Farmers in Cambridgeshire had complained after their fields and crops were torn up by hunting greyhounds. The police operation also involved forces from Northampton, the West Midlands and Essex, as well as the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU). In a separate case in May 2025, two men were handed Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) and fines after being convicted of taking part in hare coursing in March 2023. Two other men arrested in the same incident were sentenced to driving bans, fines and the seizure of their car and dogs back in December 2023, but Edward Connors and Jerry Connors failed to attend court. Warrants were issued for their arrest, leading them to eventually be brought before Lincoln Magistrates' Court on 29 May this year. The pair were both charged with 'hunting with dogs' and 'trespassing with intent to pursue hares'. The court issued them with a CBO "prohibiting them from being in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire or Leicestershire with or in the company of anyone with dogs of any breed. Also, not to be in any of the five counties with any instruments to be used for poaching either during the day or night." The pair were ordered to pay court costs, a fine and a victim surcharge of over £6k (Protect the Wild assumes that the victim surcharge won't be going to the hares!). depth of field photo of brown and black rabbit on green grass field Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash Hare persecution Hare numbers in the UK are dwindling, and wild hares are now a relatively rare sight. There used to be an estimated four million hares in Britain, but these numbers have now dropped to approximately 700,000. That's a massive 80% decline in numbers. On top of hare coursing, hares don't have a protected breeding season, meaning they can legally be shot all year round. As well as hare coursing and shooting, hares are often pursued by hunts using beagle and basset packs. Protect the Wild’s recent report, ‘The True Face of Hunting with Hounds’ reports that the rate of wildlife persecution by beagle and basset packs surpasses even fox hunts. Hunt monitors and sab groups witnessed 26 incidents of hare hunting across 15 meets, which makes a massive 1.73 incidents per meet. At Protect the Wild we want to see an end to the persecution of hares. We need a workable ban on the hunting of mammals with hounds. Please sign our petition for a proper ban on all forms of hunting here. Read this analysis of police bias in investigating hare coursing by Protect the Wild's Glen Black. Police operations targeting hare coursing, like Operation Galileo, are underway across the UK to combat this illegal activity. These operations involve multiple police forces working together to share intelligence, seize vehicles and dogs, and prosecute offenders. The public can play a role by reporting incidents to 999 during live events and providing vehicle descriptions and number plates. For more information see our Protectors of the Wild page on Hare Coursing and the Law. Support Protect the Wild with a small monthly donation Times our really hard right now for organisations like ours. We rely solely on the generosity of the public and don’t have any major funders behind the scenes. Despite being a relatively small group we are so proud of our output and it is thanks to every single person who chips in a few pounds a month that we can continue our vital work. We do everything we legally can to fight for British wildlife. From undercover investigations, animations, journalism, report writing, equipment and mental health support for activists, protests, pressure campaigning.. Our monthly goal is to find 100 new supporters who believe in our mission and can afford to give anything from £2/3 a month in the fight for British wildlife. Support Protect the Wild

CUBBING STARTS THIS MONTH — A BLOOD SPORT FOR SOME — JUST CRUELTY FOR OTHERS

In this mid-August fox hunting update, hunts around the UK have begun the Summer 'cubbing season'. Cubbing is the disgraceful practice of hunting and killing young foxes and hares (leverets) to give their new hounds a taste for blood. Our stories this month include: - Sabs and monitors organise to stop cubbing. - Police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announce new charges and prosecutions against hunters for breaches of the Hunting Act. - In parliamentary news, over 60 MPs wrote to the Minister for Food and Rural Affairs demanding a timeline for the government's promised consultation on fox hunting. Independent MP and ex-Leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn and Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy have pledged their support for a proper ban on hunting. Meanwhile, a Tory Police and Crime Commissioner has defected to the openly pro-hunt, far right Reform party. - Two Welsh country shows have hosted hound parades by hunts, despite local opposition. - Finally, Locals Against the Cottesmore Hunt and Northants Hunt Sabs (NHS) organised a demo against another of the Cottesmore's fundraising events. NHS have pledged to protest every fundraiser organised by the struggling hunt. Read on to find out more. Attempted killing of fox cubs continues In our last fox Hunting News Update we published reports of early cubbing. Unfortunately, more news of cub hunting has been coming in from sabs and monitors. On 2 August, Shropshire Against Blood Sports published reports from local people in Stapeley that the United Pack were out causing chaos with their hounds at 5am, in a likely cubbing incident. Residents reported that the pack frightened sheep and pets, and that their concerns were met with a callous shrug of the shoulders from the hunt. East Yorkshire Coast Hunt Sabs have been watching the Middleton Hunt closely, too. The Middleton has also been out repeatedly in the early hours and sabs are keeping them under close tabs to stop any attempts at cubbing. Saboteurs save cubs in Devon Devon County Hunt Saboteurs were out on the evening of 9 August, after receiving a tip-off that the Eggesford Hunt - equipped with a quad bike carrying caged terriers - were hunting fox cubs at Ingleigh Green. The Hunt Saboteurs Association wrote: "Two sabs [From DCHS] followed huntsman Jason Marles and his whipper-in Jade on foot, while a sab drone unit followed proceedings from above. Marles put hounds into hedgerows, maize fields, waist-high cover crop and dense woodland in his search for cubs to hunt." DCHS Sabs were able to intervene twice to prevent the Hunt from making a kill. The scorching heat of the day hampered the hunt too, with many dogs taking refuge in the cool stream. Training dogs to hunt by tearing up young foxes and hares is shameful and cruel. We need a proper ban on fox hunting to stop this bloodsport once and for all. Last week Protect the Wild handed in a petition demanding that the government close up the loopholes and put in place a workable ban on hunting. Read our post about the petition here to learn more. Support the sabs and monitors organising against this barbaric practice: Shropshire Against Blood Sports | Devon County Hunt Saboteurs | East Yorkshire Coast Saboteurs More charges and prosecutions against hunters

T0XIC — PLEASE READ

Dear friends, Europe has a dirty secret. Agro-chemical companies Bayer and BASF keep making billions selling pesticides so dangerous they're banned here to countries abroad. From Brazil to South Africa, farmers are getting sick, rivers are poisoned, and bees are disappearing. And it doesn’t stop there as these chemicals return to our supermarket shelves, our plates, and are hidden in imported tea, coffee and spices. In 2022, 69 banned active substances were detected in our food! This loophole is no accident. Chemical industry lobbies have fought hard to preserve it and will continue to do so - unless we act now. We’re writing to you because together we can change it. The EU commission is now considering a full ban on toxic exports. If millions of us speak out now, we can win this over lobbies. Belgium has already acted. Now let’s push the whole EU to follow. Join us with your friends: Full stop to EU exports of toxic pesticides They’re counting on our silence to keep doing business while ruining the planet. But we’ve just proved them wrong. In the middle of summer, Avaaz members in France signed a petition with 2 million people, successfully blocking a bill to reintroduce a banned pesticide. Now let’s keep up the momentum and take on the EU’s toxic hypocrisy on pesticides. Full stop to EU exports of toxic pesticides With fierce hope, Julian, Harriet and the all Avaaz team

THE BLOODY KILLING GOES ON

THE BLOODY KILLING GOES ON The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust posted this morning & I quote “The Glorious 12th - prospects for the coming season and why this is important” It is full post with dates and locations where the killings can take place . Obviously I don’t agree! This poem I wrote in 2016 and the words are still relevant today — sadly. The Twelfth? Never! rapid upward flight crack crash-crack suddenly changes into a fast whirling out-of-control plunge crack crash-crack dead or worse still only dying bombs into the eco-system that nurtured it. To allow a feather to break free from the body that was its life crack crash-crack they hear the call of death once more filling the skies with harmed and harmless birds with toxic lead shot with death echo after echo reverberates the vision stays the guns go silent the dogs begin their work

BLOODY KILLERS

It is now the penultimate day before ‘ The Inglorious Twelfth — that day when the very moneyed people think is a great day to blast defenseless birds out of the sky. They call it sport — I don’t. This is my take on what a Red Grouse might think … I wrote it in 2016 but this ‘sport’ still exists to the detriment of our natural flauta and fauna. NATURAL ENEMIES? natural enemies! pa-ah! "they don't exist no more", but we watch the skies, just in case... you never know. humans come and leave things. We peck at stuff and then there's that bunch of feathers tied to the post. It's really scary, that, and the unseeing eye socket scares us all, but hey-ho we eat our way to plumpness: good enough to eat - and THEN... JE(C)04/08/16

OUR PLATT IN CORNWALL

Arriving on our Platt after a slow journey from the Midlands we ate our evening meal in the glow of a camp fire. We know what birds can normally be seen here and that includes the three species of Woodpecker. I glanced up in a poor light to see a Lesser Spotted feeding in a Willow Tree. It’s size and shape indicated it to be that species. In a diurnal light a Barn Owl flew towards searching as it came. Effortlessly it changed direction and flew silently down the slope, through trees and dived down into the small platt below ours. What a sight. This is the third summer we have seen this species as there is a nesting site only a field away. We were particularly pleased as we knew one had been found dead this past winter. We are blessed with trees and in one of the hedgerows a ‘stunted’ oak is growing. The new leaf growth is showing reddy before turning to a new light green and then into the darker older leaf. It is low growing and all its colours can be seen including the forming acorns. Next to it are a line of larch trees all showing new growth. Another species of tree that provides another food source. The Lesser and Greater Spotted seem to like it. Our small Platt in North Cornwall is a small reserve that is surrounded by extensively farmed land but within the vicinity there are more intensively farmed fields. There are Cornish hedgerows on all sides with a mixture of Hawthorn, Beech, Blackthorn, Sycamore and Elder. We lucky enough to have mature Oak Trees already in situ. In 1923 we found acorns at Sturts, a Herefordshire Wildlife Trust Site located in the north of the county. They were nurtured and we now have four very young oaks growing vigorously . Needless to say our boundaries are full of growth and life. The area between are a wildlife ‘mess’ and I will take care to leave areas unmolested. We have planted three thriving apple trees and around the young oaks I will strim some areas to allow light in and ensure that the newly planted are not overcome by natural growth. By doing this I will retain some areas to grow naturally but with other spots of lower growth thus providing different habitats. In two dark corners are strong growing hazels. Self seeders Hypericum and Buddleia are there together with a plethora of naturally occurring growth. We have always given attention to fungi and because some tree growth had to be removed and logged we have dead wood for new life to live on. There is a photo included with a group of ‘button’ like growth together with lichens and other interesting growths that we have recorded in previous years.

Nest boxes and bat boxes I have provided and we feed the birds when we are here. Unfortunately the grey squirrels are a menace.

PROTECT THE WILD — ROB POWNAL IS RUNNING RINGS AROUND PARLIAMENT

I might regret this... But it’s for a good cause ROB POWNALL JUL 23 READ IN APP 24 Hours Around Parliament – A Protest Run for Wildlife I’m doing a 24-hour challenge in London. Running and walking laps around Parliament. Not for fun. Not for fitness. I’m doing it because I am furious. Furious at the state of British wildlife. Furious at the actions of this Government. Furious that the people in power are letting nature die and pretending everything is fine. And I’ve had enough. We are at a point where it doesn’t even matter what party is in charge anymore. The mission is always the same. Destroy nature. Kill wildlife. Focus everything on profit and growth. Whatever the cost. Labour promised to lead on animal welfare. They stood on a platform of action. A year later and we’re still waiting. Still waiting while animals are slaughtered. Still waiting while wild places are bulldozed. Still waiting while promises are broken and the farming lobby calls the shots. They are not leading. They are hiding. There is a Planning and Infrastructure Bill coming that will rip through what’s left of nature. It lets developers wipe out habitats and just chuck some money into a joke fund after the damage is done. The badger cull is still happening. Thousands of lives taken. Even after they admitted it was ineffective. Foxes, hares and deer are still being hunted. Hunts are laughing in the face of the law. And what is this Government doing? Moving at a snail’s pace. Too scared to upset the countryside elites. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of the lies. I’m sick of politics as usual. So this challenge is not just a run. It’s a protest. Donate to the challenge For 24 hours straight I will run and walk a 5 kilometre loop around Parliament. Again. And again. And again. Through the day and through the night. Because I want them to know that we are are not going anywhere.This movement is growing. We are angry. We are organised. We will not be silenced. Not by this Government. Not by the next. Not by anyone who thinks wildlife doesn’t matter. This is a statement. This is a message. We’re done waiting. I’m asking you to stand with me. Sponsor this challenge. Help me raise one thousand pounds for every hour I’m out there. That’s twenty four thousand pounds to fight back. To protect what’s left. To build a better future for wildlife. If we can raise this amount it will allow us to keep building Protect the Wild into a considerable force for good. One that doesn't bow down to big donors or pull any punches. I am so proud to lead an organisation that gets so much done and is doing everything legally possible to fight for British wildlife. Undercover investigations, viral animations, ground-breaking reports, journalism, supporting activists with equipment and mental health support, podcasting, pressure campaigning, protesting. Trust me when I say we are working tirelessly and throwing everything at it day in day out. On Monday 1st September, the very same day Parliament returns from recess, I’ll run as many 5km laps around Parliament as possible within 24 hours. Please donate. Please share. Please show this Government that we're fighting hard for British wildlife and we will forever hold them to account. I also just wanted to say thank you for your continued support. It is always difficult sending these sort of emails and asking for donations (yet again) but we're doing more than we ever have done and this vital work costs money. The Protect the Wild community is just incredible and it is thanks to people like yourself that we are able to build this powerful movement for British wildlife, one that does and says what others can't or won't. You're all heroes and it is your backing and amazing support that will push me through every mile for 24 hours straight :) Donate to the challenge