Two men from Bristol have been charged with hare coursing in a field almost 60 miles away. The two have been charged with an offence of trespassing with intent to search or pursue hares with dogs, under the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act of 2022.
The incident relates to a sighting by a member of the public of two men with two lurcher dogs who were trespassing on a field near the village of Burbage, on the North Wessex Downs, south of Marlborough in Wiltshire on October 10 last year.
Paul Doherty, 41, of Wexford Road in Knowle West, Bristol, was charged and has been bailed to appear at Swindon Magistrates Court on February 18. John Head, a 51-year-old from Blackhorse Lane in Emersons Green, Bristol, has also been charged and will appear at Salisbury Magistrates Court on March 12.
“If you notice concerning or suspicious activity in relation to hare coursing, such as the presence of 4×4 vehicles driving fast over open land, the presence of lurcher-type dogs, flashing lights from lamps, or congregations of groups in open farmland, please report this by calling 999,” a spokesperson for Wiltshire police said.