OFFICERS from Merseyside Police's Rural, Wildlife and Heritage team have conducted high visibility patrols around St Helens' farms and rural spaces.
The patrols were conducted in a bid to tackle hare coursing and poaching taking place in rural communities, which is the pursuit of hares with dogs, often for gambling.
The coursing usually takes place on areas of flat, open land where the dogs can easily and visibly pursue the harem and is typically carried out by large groups of people who travel long distances in often stolen or unregistered cars to gain access to suitable land.
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The officers team visited areas such as Lunt and Rainford to engage with farmers, landowners and other partners to spread awareness, develop intelligence and provide crime prevention advice.
After conducting numerous stop searches, no one we stopped was found in possession of anything illegal, but it allowed officers to speak to people about rural crime and explain why they were in the area.
More information about Hare Coursing can be found here. Hare coursing or any other rural, wildlife or heritage crime can be reported here or by calling 999 or 101.
We’ll be posting more updates from the rural crime team as well as from the local policing team as they continue their work across Merseyside, so let us know what you think and if you have a question about rural crime, put it in the comments below.
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