- Penrith and The Border MP, Dr Neil Hudson, spoke in support of the Hare Coursing Bill in the House of Commons on 21st January.
- It was a Private Member’s Bill proposed by Richard Fuller MP that was designed to increase penalties for those who participate in the abhorrent crime of hare coursing.
- Hare coursing is an activity where dogs are used to chase, catch and kill hares. It is illegal in the UK under the Hunting Act 2004, but this Bill calls for harsher penalties to act as a deterrent.
- The Government committed to bring forward the provisions of the Bill and accordingly was then withdrawn by Richard Fuller MP
During a speech that Dr Hudson gave to support the Bill he highlighted that it is one of several rural crimes such as poaching, fly-tipping, farm machinery theft and animal theft that sadly impact communities and thanked Cumbria Police for their work in combatting rural crime. He also welcomed that it is part of a broader Government strategy; the ‘Action Plan on Animal Welfare’.
Commenting, Dr Hudson said:
“This is also part of a bigger picture of rural crime, we have hare coursing, we have poaching, we have fly-tipping, we have the theft of farm machinery and we have the theft of animals. We also need to be aware of the negative effects that rural crime has on people’s mental health, something we will be looking at in our EFRA Committee Inquiry on Rural Mental Health, that I as a Member have triggered.”
I would like to pay tribute to my local police force, Cumbria Police for the hard work they do in protecting rural communities against rural crime. In particular, Chief Constable Michelle Skeer and the Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall for their leadership on the matter. Police action on rural crime works best when there is buy-in from local communities, that is why my thanks goes out to Cumbria Farm Watch, which is a grouping of police, the farming community and rural communities.”
Commenting on the Government’s action on Hare Coursing, RSPCA chief executive Chris Sherwood said:
“We’re pleased to see proposals to crackdown on hare coursing; a barbaric bloodsport that sees hare cruelly chased, caught and killed by dogs. It’s time hare coursing was consigned to the history books, where it belongs.”
