Gangs, violence and dumped dead animals: The hidden world of illegal hare hunts
Farmers in Cambridgeshire are facing intimidation and property damage from organized groups conducting illegal hare coursing events. These groups use military-style tactics and vehicles to hunt wildlife on private land, often leaving local residents feeling trapped and unprotected by law enforcement.
Why it matters
This highlights a growing rural crime crisis where organized gangs exploit remote areas, causing significant economic damage and psychological distress to farming communities.
Image caption, Farmers say they have been threatened by balaclava-clad hare coursers at night
On a remote Cambridgeshire farm, where his nearest neighbour is half a mile away, Mathew Latta was making lunch when the peace was shattered by the sound of loud exhausts.
Latta ran to the window to see a convoy of more than a dozen 4x4s heading towards his farm. His iron gates were cut open with an angle grinder and concrete blocks were shifted out of the way to clear the convoy's path.
The vehicles drove right over his fields at speed, tearing up the crops and skirting the fence by the family's garden. Then more than 70 people got out of the vehicles, men dressed in military fatigues and balaclavas, cheering and playing music.
Dogs were brought out on leads and began to hunt hares.
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