"We are going to be tortured" - farmers fears over poachers in Yorkshire

Over recent weeks poachers have returned with a vengeance as they hunt animals such as hares and deer for what police are calling “trophy sport”.

Quite often they leave the animal carcass behind and even their own dogs to avoid being caught by landowners and police and have been known to threaten farmers with arson and assault if they try to stop them.

During Covid the crime figures for poaching and hare-coursing dropped but this year, despite a specialist Rural Task Force set up to tackle countryside crime, there is expected to be a spike in crimes connected to poaching as the season gets underway.

The onset of the harvesting season means crops have been cut and it makes it easier for dogs to chase down prey. In addition, following some periods of rainfall after a hot dry summer the ground is softer making for ideal conditions for dogs to chase without getting injured.

Earlier this week, The Yorkshire Post joined a patrol with the North Yorkshire Rural Task Force to visit some of the victims who had become targets for poachers.

It was thought they were chasing deer across the land in cars and with dogs, but in turn damaged fields of rapeseed, which can sell for £650 a tonne and maize which is sold for cattle feed, the loss of which is creating further financial hardship for farmers and growers.

One affected gamekeeper, in the Harrogate district, said it wasn’t the first time he had been targeted and fears that it will get worse as harvesting and weather conditions change.

He said: "They took the same route on Sunday night as they did last Wednesday and the Friday before. But that was the first time they cut the gates, they know where my camera is.

"I lock the gates and the farmers lock the gates but they can’t get to them all at this time of year and some have been left open. Locking gates has reduced some of it but I would not be sure they are not using an angle grinder to cut them.

"We use concrete blocks in pairs, you can get through with a quad but not a car but they are away as quick as you can blink. Trying to catch them is a nightmare.”

He said the weather affects levels of poaching, which can take place during the day as well as night and often poachers use the excuse of walking dogs across land to check out potential locations to return to.

The ‘type’ of poacher has also changed from the stereotypical loveable village rogue stereotype. These days they are armed, in numbers, have no concern for animal welfare – and it is an operation worth several thousands of pounds.

He added: “If we get the rain, I think we are going to be tortured I genuinely do.

"In the last two years it has been quiet, it has been one or two a week or once a fortnight. Now there are no restrictions of any sorts as to where you can be, and with the cost of living we have a better chance of catching them.

"It is not about what happens with the product. Go back 20 years, a local poacher would get a pheasant or a hare for the pot on a Sunday and once they have caught something they pack up and go home – this lot are in a different league. It is about the killing and the money that is involved.”

Further investigations show that there are illegal ‘betting leagues’ on dogs as to which can kill the most. They are even being cross-bred, usually between Bull Mastiffs and Lurcher type dogs, to get the best of speed and power.

In a second location on farmland between York and Harrogate, the gamekeeper disturbed would be poachers after he spotted car lights at night. In their desperation to get away they drove through a field of maize for around a mile to escape, ruining the crops.

In 2016, North Yorkshire Police set up a Rural Task Force with a team of police officers and police community support officers dedicated to tackling crime in the countryside which ranges from agricultural vehicle thefts, to heritage crimes and incidents involving wildlife and livestock.

Last month new and tougher punishments were introduced for hare-coursing crime and it is hoped other measures will act as a deterrent.

Judith Skilbeck is the force’s rural crime co-ordinator.

She added: “Poaching is the thing that upsets the community. The public will turn out to support us and gather information right up until 3 and 4 o’clock in the morning.

"They understand this is not just our job to sort out. It is a community problem to protect rural communities and they are passionate about it.”