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:

Crofters demand right to cull more deer – Fieldsports News, 17 September 2025
Here are the links: Scottish crofters want stalking rights – WeLoveStornoway.com and FT.com John Muir Trust’s ‘toxic culture’ – Herald Scotland Police crush poacher’s X-Trail –

How the UK’s burning ban will fuel a wildfire disaster
In a record year for wildfires in Britain’s uplands – 1,000 of them – only Starmer’s government could enact legislation that will make the problem

Gamekeeper Scott Shuckford wins his guns back
Police swooped on well-known gamekeeper Scott Shuckford and took away his guns after a member of the public reported seeing a gun in his truck.

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