Hare Coursing Season Alert – Sussex Police Rural Crime Team

Hare Coursing Season Alert – Sussex Police Rural Crime Team

As we enter the hare coursing season, Sussex Police Rural Crime Team are asking for your continued vigilance and support in helping us disrupt and investigate this harmful rural crime.

Hare coursing is a criminal offence that causes serious damage to farmland, wildlife, and communities. It often involves organised offenders using dogs to chase or kill hares, trespassing across multiple farms, and causing criminal damage.

What to do;

      2. Only gather evidence (e.g. photos/videos) if safe to do so – your safety is always the priority, never put yourself at risk.

      3.Please also report all other related activity, even if the offenders have left:

     4.Include as much detail as possible:

      5. Even if the crime isn’t ongoing, please report it to us via 101 or online at: Report a crime | Sussex Police

Hare Coursing – When and Why to Call 999

We know that calling 999 can feel like a big step, and some people might not think of hare coursing as an emergency. But we want to reassure you that if you see it happening, 999 is absolutely the right number to call.

Hare coursing isn’t just about illegal hunting – it’s often linked to organised crime. Offenders trespass across private land, damage property and crops, and in some cases threaten farmers and landowners. It’s fast-moving, often involves multiple vehicles and dogs, and the offenders don’t tend to stick around long.

When you call 999 while the activity is still happening, it gives us the best chance of getting officers there in time to stop it, seize vehicles or dogs, and even make arrests. If it’s reported after the fact, the opportunity to take action is usually lost.

Our call handlers are trained to assess every 999 call and will make sure it’s dealt with in the right way – so don’t worry about “bothering” us. If it turns out it isn’t an emergency, they’ll triage it and pass it on through the correct channel.

We wouldn’t ask you to use 999 unless it was necessary – but hare coursing is a serious offence that affects our rural communities, wildlife, and landowners, and it deserves a fast response.

So please – if you see hare coursing happening, don’t hesitate: call 999 straight away. Your report could make a real difference.