The Alliance welcomes the new guidelines for offences related to poaching and particularly hare poaching published by The Sentencing Council. These will come into effect on 1 June 2026. There was previously no sentencing guideline covering these offences.

The new guideline follows a consultation last year to which the Alliance responded. This resulted from a successful campaign by the Alliance to amend the law around poaching in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act 2022. These changes strengthened the powers of the police and courts, recognising the seriousness of the blight of hare poaching in many parts of the country. The guideline covers four offences reflecting 2022 changes. These are:

• Trespass with intent to search for or pursue hares with dogs etc
• Being equipped for searching for or pursuing hares with dogs etc
• Trespass in the daytime in search of game
• Taking or destroying game by night

We particularly welcome the recognition of a range of aggravating factors such as the use of social media to record and promote offences and the recommendation that “it will usually be appropriate to make ancillary orders”. These allow courts to disqualify offenders from owning a dog, and order offenders to repay the costs of a dog's seizure and detention.

The accompanying press release quotes His Honour Judge Simon Drew KC, member of the Sentencing Council, who said:

“Illegal activities associated with hare coursing cause real harm — to wildlife, to property, to farmers and their families and to the wider rural communities that often deal with the repercussions of this aggressive crime. The strength of feeling we heard through our consultation made clear just how seriously this issue is felt. This guideline ensures the courts have the tools to reflect that harm in sentencing.”