Wiltshire farmers are being “terrorised by men in balaclavas”, warned Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Sir Ed called for a “comprehensive rural crime strategy” amid fears hare coursing could lead to a fatality.
Trespassing on land intending to pursue hares with dogs is illegal under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Around 30 offenders were sentenced in 2023, according to Sentencing Council figures released this year, but none received the maximum sentence of six months in prison.
The Liberal Democrat leader says the issue is troubling farmers in Wiltshire and other counties across the south of England.
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He told the Commons: “Criminal gangs are terrorising rural communities across our country, from Cambridgeshire to Devon, from Oxfordshire to Wiltshire.
“Men in balaclavas are threatening and abusing farmers as these criminals tear across their fields in 4x4s.
“Farmers are warning it’s only a matter of time before someone is killed, so does the Prime Minister agree with me that we must act urgently against this appalling criminality?”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the Government is working on a rural crime strategy.
He added: “It is a matter of deep concern.
“We’re already developing a rural crime strategy, but we’ll happily work with him and others to develop it further.”
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