Published 15th Oct 2022, 13:56 BST

The Mulgrave Estate, based at Lythe in North Yorkshire, has been targeted four times in as many weeks by poachers hunting mainly for deer, but also hare-coursing as well, which is churning up acres of farm and estate land.

However, due to the time of day incidents are occurring and limited police resources, Estate Director at Mulgrave, Robert Childerhouse told Country Post it is becoming “the crime they can get away with and in most cases do”.

Mr Childerhouse said he reports each occasion of poaching they have on the estate’s home farmland and encourages tenants and farmers to do the same and has called for the public to recognise signs of poaching activity, so the more reports made may lead to police taking more action.

An estate director has called for more help from the police and public to tackle poaching after an increase in incidents at The Mulgrave Estate in Lythe, North Yorkshire and other parts of the area.

"We have had a heavy run on it in the last few weeks after harvest. It is three or four in the last few weeks and since August we have had a regular series of ‘visitors’. We are an easy target as an estate with a lot of land and fields to get into.

"If you are a farmer, a game-keeper or involved with an estate you keep an eye out and can spot the evidence at once whether they have driven across fields or animal remains.

“The general public knows it goes on but don’t recognise when it is happening or think to report it. Unless we do the police don’t know it is a problem. They might not be able to do anything if it is the day after or the next morning but might be able to increase patrols in an area or certain hotspots and be more vigilant.”

Another difficulty, he added, was the time of night poachers are striking and it being easy to think activity in fields is farmers carrying out pest control.

He added: “They come at all hours and police have such a big area to cover, they can’t police it all. That it why it is important to educate local people, the more people being vigilant and reporting they police might recognise it is a problem.

“It is a crime they can get away with and in most cases do.”

Earlier this week Police and Crime Commissioner figures stated that poaching crimes in the April-September period were 32 per cent lower this year than the same period in 2021.

However, the estate boss said he had heard reports from other landowners of well organised teams of poachers turning up with up to four vehicles and a refrigerated van so whatever they catch can be dealt onwards and another landowner had heard of ‘processing units’ being set up in woods so animal meat can be prepared swiftly and animal remains being dumped.

Just as harvest season got underway game-keepers were reporting an increasing number of incidents in the Wetherby and Harrogate areas.

The cost of living crisis will be driving people to poach and sell on the meat as people struggle to pay for food and energy at home, added Mr Childerhouse.

He said: “People are struggling to feed themselves. If you shoot a small deer you might get £30 or £40, a large one can be up to £100. If you only shoot one or two a week that is a couple of hundred quid for not much effort really.”

Farms and estates in Yorkshire blighted by poaching