Hare coursing: Gone in 40 seconds but wildlife police fight back

Cases almost doubled in Scotland last year, with particularly high levels in rural parts of Grampian and Tayside.

Police plan to use intelligence and publicly encourage witnesses to report coursing as it happens in a bid to catch offenders in the act.

However, it typically takes dogs 40 seconds to catch the hare or for the hare to get away, and coursers are generally gone within ten minutes, leaving police very little time to make arrests.

Alan Stewart, wildlife and environmental crime officer at Tayside Police, launched the hare coursing crackdown, Operation Lepus –which has now gone nationwide – in 2005.

He said: ''It's mostly people from the travelling community, although not exclusively.

''There are no organised events like in England. It's normally two to four people with two to four dogs.

''They will be driving along the road and see a hare. Someone keeps watch while someone else gets as close as they can to the hare and then sets off the dogs.

''They prefer big fields so the hare has a reasonable chance of being caught.''

Coursing was banned in Scotland in 2002, but has grown in popularity over the past five years.

The number of incidents in Scotland rose from 79 in 2008 to 146 last year, and coursing is most popular in early spring when the days are longer, the fields are drier and the crops are not yet tall enough to hide the hares.

Coursing can badly damage crops before they have the chance to grow, and can also upset livestock.

Roseanna Cunningham MSP, environment minister and chairwoman of Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (Paw) Scotland, said:

''All efforts should be aimed at increasing brown hare numbers, which have suffered a worrying decline over the past few decades.

''Protecting Scotland's wildlife remains a key priority for the Scottish Government.''

Detective Inspector Brian Stuart, head of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, said: ''Operation Lepus is a co-ordinated effort to support our rural communities through intelligence-led policing. 'We need the support of our communities. If anyone witnesses suspicious activity in the countryside, report it to the police immediately.''

Douglas McAdam, chief executive of the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association, said: ''Rural organisations working together with the police and Scottish Government are determined to bring an end to hare coursing."

BLOODSPORT IN NAME OF GAMBLING

THE controversial bloodsport of coursing pits the speed and size of lurchers against the agility of the hare, often in the name of gambling.

Hares are usually given a headstart of about 80 yards and, as the dogs close, start to zigzag to try to get away.

Bets are placed on how often the dogs turn the hare, and which one catches it. Although it was banned in Scotland only in 2002, coursers were often prosecuted before then for trespassing, and they are as unpopular among farmers tending animals and crops as animal rights' campaigners.

A typical course lasts just 40 seconds and half the time the hare escapes.