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:

Tax blow could finish Scottish sporting estates – Fieldsports News, 21 January 2026
Here are the links: Scotland plans to hammer sporting estates – BASC Mass poaching bust on the Fens – YouTube RSPB ‘bird crime’ reports rubbished

Trump government weighs in on UK hunting trophy imports
The US government has written to the UK’s environment department DEFRA to ask it not to ban trophy imports. A letter from Doug Burgum, US

Gun licensing failures put public at risk – Fieldsports News, 14 January 2026
Here are the links: Police firearms licensing is failing the public – HMICFRS.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk Gun grab victim Sandy’s sheep attacked by fox – YouTube Gamekeeper kills

Government petition response shambles – Fieldsports News, 7 January 2026
Here are the links: Sabs’ plans for trailhunting – TheNewHuntingBan.com/ Government stuffs up petition response – Petition.Parliament.uk/petitions/750236 Get yourself ‘enshrined’ for your intangible cultural heritage

What damage can Labour do to hunting and shooting in 2026?
What is Keir Starmer planning to throw at the countryside in 2026? We ask Gareth Dockerty from BASC, Tim Bonner from the Countryside Alliance, Ed

Trail hunting triumph – Fieldsports News, 31 December 2025
Here are the links: Record turnout at Boxing Day meets – AOL YouGov says only half the country wants trailhunting ban – YouGov Bean geese

Labour’s ‘animal welfare’ attack on the countryside – Fieldsports News, 24 December 2025
Here are the links: Starmer government reveals animal rights-driven welfare strategy – Gov.uk Shotgun licensing petition passes 100,000 signatures – Petition.parliament.uk BHSA drops terrierwork from

Gun grab victim wins in court
Lifelong shooter Darren Easton has finally won his case in court, with help from Fieldsports lawyer Layla. Cambridgeshire police seized Darren’s guns when he struggled

Shotgun petition hits 50,000 signatures – Fieldsports News, 17 December 2025
Here are the links: 50,000 sign to keep shotguns off Section 1 – Sign the petition here Will Scotland end calls for deer wipe-out? –

UN protection for hunting’s ‘cultural heritage’ – Fieldsports News, 10 December 2025
Here are the links: UNESCO protection available for hunts and shoots – RuralPursuitsCommunity.com Write to your MP about shotguns on FACs – FieldsportsChannel.tv/shotguns-on-facs/ Hare poachers

Arrest for man photographed with gun – Fieldsports News, 3 December 2025
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiwKFkGWSZw Here are the links: Posting a picture with a gun lands man in cells – Daily Mail Cumbria fox death leads to 16 arrests
Shotguns on FACs: what to write to your MP
The Westminster government plans to released a consultation on the future of shotguns, which it has indicated it wants to put on to section one


