We are urging farmers and landowners to report suspicious activities and vehicles, and any crimes in action in light of recent reports of hare coursing.

Typically instances of hare coursing peak in Autumn and Winter, however we have had three reported hare coursing incidents between 24 and 26 June on land in the Woodmancott area of rural Winchester.

Officers from the Country Watch Rural Crime Task Force have been patrolling the area and will continue to patrol any areas known to be affected by this crime type.

Please keep reporting hare coursing to police as the intelligence from you is crucial for us when we plan our patrols and targeted operational activity.

We are also keen to receive details of any suspicious people or vehicles on farmland in the county. Call 101 to provide information to us, or use the reporting tool on our website: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/

You can also contact Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their anonymous online form at crimestoppers-uk.org

Dial 999 if an incident is in progress.

If you have a business connection to the rural environment and you are a member of DISC, you can also email us at discreports@hampshire.police.uk

It’s important to remember never to approach the people involved in this type of activity - your safety is our priority. 

If it is safe to do so, obtain any video footage or photos, and provide as much information to the police as you can when you report including:

You can also consider downloading the free app What3Words, as this helps narrow down your exact location when making a report to police. Visit: https://what3words.com/