Police appeal after ‘sharp increase’ in poaching and hare coursing in Sussex

Police say that the rise in the type of crime usually follows the harvesting of corn.

A spokesman said: “Anyone who suspects illegal poaching is taking place, please call Sussex Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency, ie, poaching is occurring in front of you there and then.”

Hare coursing - the chasing of hares by dogs,usually greyhounds - was banned in the UK along with hare hunting in 2004,

According to the Hare Preservation Trust, the number of brown hares in Britain has declined by 80 per cent since the late 1880s.