Animal welfare consultant Jim Barrington goes on a tour of hare poaching victims in the Eastern Counties of England. With poachers damaging crops and farm equipment, it is up to gamekeepers to defend the land. Tony Blair’s 2004 ban on coursing was meant to have stopped this. Jim meets gamekeepers Geoff Garrod and Ed Coles and hears first hand how Blair’s ban has failed.
Click here for Ed Coles’ petition to increase poaching sentences
More news stories:

DEFRA doubles down on burning ban – Fieldsports News, 10 September 2025
Here are the links: Government extends burning ban – Gov.uk Arrested for shooting catapults – Kent Police YouTube Scottish greyhound ban looms – Parliament.scot Spurs

Are RSPB stoat traps breaking the law? – Fieldsports News, 3 September 2025
Here are the links: RSPB’s rotting stoat – RSPB Phil Gray wins British Open Sporting – Facebook livestream and CPSA results Goose shooting prospects look good

GB shooters win world medals – Fieldsports News, 27 August 2025
Here are the links: Rimfire world championships – ImpactScoring.net Rupert Lowe MP gets his guns back – X.com Langdale wildfire enters its third week –

Police gun grab mistaken identity
When Gloucestershire Police wrote to Jack Edmunds to explain why they were revoking his shotgun certificate, they said it was because he was a murder

Worst wildfire year ever – Fieldsports News, 20 August 2025
Here are the links: Record year for wildfires – BBC and BBC Kennel Club sells gundog trialling estate – ChronicleLive.co.uk London wildlife management conference – Bit.ly/ukwildlifeconference

Grouse prospects ‘poor’ – Fieldsports News, 13 August 2025
Here are the links: Grouse densities down for 2025 – GWCT RSPB ‘demonising’ gamekeepers – Moorland Association Cash for firefighting gamekeepers – Cairngorms.co.uk GWT health

Shotgun licensing tightened – Fieldsports News, 6 August 2025
Here are the links: New shotgun rules – Gov.uk Online Safety Act hits gunshops – Gov.uk UN protection for fieldsports – HuntingKind.com BASC starts legal

Starmer plans gun clampdown – Fieldsports News, 30 July 2025
Here are the links: Government plans to merge shotgun and firearm certificates – YouTube Trump embarrasses Starmer over family farm tax – YouTube Airguns stolen

Government minister actually answers questions on the countryside
Find out what the government has planned for the countryside, including farm inheritance tax, lead shot, trophy imports, general licences and countryside stewardship. DEFRA minister

New rural voice for Scotland – Fieldsports News, 23 July 2025
Here are the links: Scottish Rural Party – ScottishRuralParty.co.uk Police firearms licensing failures – BASC Schoolboy stands up for fieldsports – Facebook Bear hunters warned

Labour is failing the antis – Fieldsports News, 16 July 2025
Here are the links: Antis lose faith in Labour – The Guardian Rigby lashes out at Labour– Telegraph Shooting gives Scotland £246m in benefits –

Massive majority against lead ammo ban
The world of shooting does not want a lead ammo ban. Look into it more carefully and a complex picture emerges. Charlie Jacoby talks to