Police warning over hare-coursing as man stripped of dog and car
John Latcham, 28, was spotted allowing a lurcher dog to run loose and chase a hare on land at Well, near Bedale, on January 28.
The two-year-old male dog was found nearby with the carcass of a hare, and was taken by police to a secure kennels.
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Hide AdLatcham, from Butterknowle, Durham, was charged with hunting a wild mammal with a dog. He was found guilty in his absence at Northallerton Magistrates Court last Tuesday, where he was fined £660 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £66 victim surcharge. Forfeiture orders were made for his Ford Mondeo, a dog lead and the dog, which will now be re-homed.
Inspector Jon Grainge, of North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce, said poaching was one of six national wildlife crime priorities.
He said: “Latcham travelled a considerable distance to commit this offence.
“The sentence imposed should send a clear message that North Yorkshire Police will not tolerate this offending in our communities, and deal with all reports robustly.”