Since the pandemic in particular, hare coursing has been in the rise across rural Britain. Here in Wales, we are sadly no strangers to the gangs of roving thugs in 4X4s who take to fields in their highly illegal and viciously cruel pursuit of hare coursing.

Very often, farmers who try and intercept these gangs or who intervene against these thugs end up being assaulted.

So it’s about time that strict new rules have been introduced now, with tough new sentencing guidelines to better reflect the seriousness of illegal hare coursing activities and its impact farming families.

Since the beginning of June, courts here in Wales and in England will follow the new sentencing guidelines. While they are to be welcomed, we also feel its necessary to ask: What took so long?

Across Wales, our police forces are stretched thin, with resources of personnel largely reserved for larger population centres. While that is an obvious sentiment, the reality is that those who commit such crimes as coursing and illegal hunting in our countryside do so in an expectation that they won’t be caught.

Our rural police officers do incredible work at a community level, working with farmers and landowners to stamp out thefts and dangerous antisocial behaviour. Well done.

Now, with these tough new guidelines, they can address such things as trespass with intent to search for or pursue hares with dogs; being equipped for searching for or pursuing hares with dogs; trespass in the daytime in search of game; and taking or destroying game by night.

NFU Cymru has welcomed the new sentencing guidelines for hare coursing offences as an important step forward in deterring hare coursers, but has stressed that these new measures will only be effective when supported by targeted police efforts on the ground.

This publication agrees.

The ramifications of these activities run much deeper than damage to farmland. In so many cases farmers have seen property destroyed, livestock harmed and in the most serious instances, farmers have been subjected to extreme threats of violence simply for trying to move offenders off their fields.

It’s about time this thuggery was dealt with.