‘It’s a matter of time before a farmer is seriously injured’: on the trail of hare coursers in Wiltshire | Animal welfare

A. It was a cold, bright afternoon in the Pewsey Valley and a few brown rabbits were munching on a field of winter barley. It was a tranquil scene in this hidden corner of the English West Country, but tire tracks cutting through the crops were a sign of the violence that ensued as night fell.

This is one of the busiest rabbit hunting spots in Wiltshire. Here, criminal gangs unleash dogs (usually greyhounds or lurchers) on mammals.

Typically, bets are placed on how many “turns” it takes for the hound to catch and kill a rabbit, and some chases are broadcast live so gamblers around the world can participate.

Wiltshire Police, one of the UK police forces tackling horse racing, said rabbit-herding gangs terrorizing the countryside. Inspector Andy Lemon, tactical lead for rural crime in Wiltshire, said: “I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before a farmer or landowner here gets seriously injured defending his property.”

He warned farmers to “take matters into their own hands and fight back”, saying: “We tell them: please don’t call us. But the concern is that a farmer will lose it.”

Last year, rabbit hunting and poaching crimes rose by more than 20% in Wiltshire. 30 people have been arrested for crimes since January 2025; This represents a 500% increase compared to 2024.

However, many more could not be caught. Gang members travel to Wiltshire from across the UK. In Wiltshire, once the autumn harvest is complete, wide open fields emerge, leaving little shelter for rabbits.

“This is their playground,” said Lemon, who took Guardian out to see some of the spots favored by the racers. “We think rabbit hunting probably occurs somewhere in the county every day.”

Areas loved by racers are often crossed by trails, bridges and byways, making good spots accessible to determined criminals with four-wheel drive vehicles.

If they can get there in time, the police send in armed officers, drone operators and road traffic squads, but the criminals are very good at getting away. “When they go off road, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Lemon said.

He suggested that crime was committed wherever there were rabbits, with powers such as Wiltshire and Lincolnshire actively combating racers. “Some police forces say they don’t have a problem. I think they do; they just don’t know it.”

A Pewsey Vale farmer showed the Guardian the defenses landowners have put in place to prevent this. Try to keep trainees awayincluding chutes filled with concrete and fallen trees placed opposite field gates. “But they find their way in,” he said.

“They’re breaking down gates and fences. They don’t care and I actually think they enjoy being chased and running away. There’s big money involved. They’re betting thousands of pounds and the dogs are worth tens of thousands. It’s a crisis for us.”

Another local farmer said his land was used for crops 10 times a month. “We spent an absolute fortune digging trenches, fencing, extra CCTV and lighting,” he said. “Every night I go out and walk around the farm to make sure the gates are still locked, the fences are still up, and there are no lights where there shouldn’t be lights. Every time I leave my wife has a little moment.”

Some unpleasant events occurred. A farm worker from Wiltshire suffered leg and hand injuries during the accident. He fell to the ground after being hit by a car After encountering suspicious rabbit cursors.

A barn was set on fire after a farmer chased horses, and three cows were killed in a traffic accident after fences were destroyed by suspicious horses as they entered a field.

A video showing a farmer being surrounded by vehicles in his field at night was distributed by racers, apparently as a warning shot. They surrounded him and crashed into his car.

Another Vale of Pewsey farmer said the success of conservation efforts to improve conditions for rabbits was one of the reasons why crime had increased. “There has been an increase in the number of rabbits and with that an increase in rabbit wandering,” he said. “I heard that some farmers are considering shooting rabbits to stop the rabbit herd, which is very sad.”

Philip Wilkinson, Wiltshire and Swindon police and crime commissioner and National Rural Crime Network“We are being beaten, we are being terrorized,” he said.

Wilkinson, who served in the British army for 32 years, is determined to put pressure on the horses. “We will send armed intervention teams, traffic [officers] – anyone. “We will line up to catch the traitors.”

He said rabbit racers had fallen prey to international criminal networks. He had watched the course being broadcast live to China and had seen intelligence that many of the people participating in the activity were also responsible for the theft of farm equipment, from tools to expensive vehicles, some of which was smuggled to Eastern Europe.

“What we see are the tips of the tentacles. If you swim upstream through these webs, if you go far enough, you get to China and Eastern Europe. They’re all overlapped and connected.”

Those who challenge racers often find animal corpses dumped near their homes or workplaces. “There was a row of dead rabbits placed at the end of my driveway,” Wilkinson said. “They raise two fingers at us.”

But the impact is not just economic. It is a brutal sport for rabbits and some dogs. “You’re essentially testing your dog’s fitness against the fitness of a wild animal, the rabbit,” David Bowles said. RSPCA‘s head of public relations. “And the result inevitably is that the dog catches the rabbit and tears it to pieces.”

Hare herding was banned in the Hunting Act 2004 and the ban has recently been toughened with stronger penalties and more powers to catch dogs.

Bowles said police forces such as Wiltshire and Lincolnshire were working with organizations such as the RSPCA. National Farmers Union And Rural Alliance. “I think you’re starting to see the first signs of pressures actually starting to work in 2025,” he said.

Wiltshire Council says it has seen an increase in the number of dogs walking rabbits was being abandoned. During the three months of 2025, 20 lurcher type dogs were collected. Some were weak and injured, but only three were claimed by their owners.

Lemon’s radio crackled shortly after he left the Vale of Pewsey to return to police headquarters in Devizes. Dogs were found in a car on Salisbury Plain. “Probably the rabbit is running,” he said. The daily hunt for racers was beginning again.