Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have been (1) arrested, (2) prosecuted, and (3) convicted, for offences related to hare coursing in each of the last five years; and what assessment have they made of trends in illegal hare coursing during this period.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Hare coursing remains a national wildlife crime priority and is one of the offences for which police forces most frequently seek support from the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). Defra is providing ÂŁ530,000 to the NWCU in 2026/27, strengthening its intelligence, data analysis and financial investigation capabilities to help disrupt criminal networks, identify illicit profits, and bring offenders to justice.
New sentencing guidelines for hare coursing came into force on 1 June 2026. These should help ensure the courts fully recognise the significant harm and intimidation this serious crime poses to wildlife, farmers, and others across rural areas.
This Government cannot confirm offending levels as hare coursing is not a ânotifiable crimeâ. Hare coursing can also be âhiddenâ under notifiable offences such as criminal damage if it has taken place as part of the same incident.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with police forces and rural organisations to ensure that the powers introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 are being used effectively to deter offenders of hare coursing and secure prosecutions.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Hare coursing remains a national wildlife crime priority and is one of the offences for which police forces most frequently seek support from the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). Defra is providing ÂŁ530,000 to the NWCU in 2026/27, strengthening its intelligence, data analysis and financial investigation capabilities to help disrupt criminal networks, identify illicit profits, and bring offenders to justice.
New sentencing guidelines for hare coursing came into force on 1 June 2026. These should help ensure the courts fully recognise the significant harm and intimidation this serious crime poses to wildlife, farmers, and others across rural areas.
This Government cannot confirm offending levels as hare coursing is not a ânotifiable crimeâ. Hare coursing can also be âhiddenâ under notifiable offences such as criminal damage if it has taken place as part of the same incident.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of hare coursing on rural communities; and what steps they are taking to strengthen enforcement and protect wildlife.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Hare coursing remains a national wildlife crime priority and is one of the offences for which police forces most frequently seek support from the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). Defra is providing ÂŁ530,000 to the NWCU in 2026/27, strengthening its intelligence, data analysis and financial investigation capabilities to help disrupt criminal networks, identify illicit profits, and bring offenders to justice.
New sentencing guidelines for hare coursing came into force on 1 June 2026. These should help ensure the courts fully recognise the significant harm and intimidation this serious crime poses to wildlife, farmers, and others across rural areas.
This Government cannot confirm offending levels as hare coursing is not a ânotifiable crimeâ. Hare coursing can also be âhiddenâ under notifiable offences such as criminal damage if it has taken place as part of the same incident.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of schools in England and Wales that operate beagle packs, and (2) the extent to which such packs are being used to pursue or kill hares; and what plans they have to review the adequacy of the current regulatory and enforcement framework for these activities.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department has not undertaken an assessment of the number of schools operating beagle packs or the extent to which such packs may be being used to kill hares. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act, and completely bans hare coursing. In addition, the previous Government made changes to address illegal hare coursing through a package of measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This broadened the circumstances in which police can investigate and bring charges for hare coursing related activity.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Code of Practice for Brown Hare Management and Welfare in England, published by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust March 2013, and its effectiveness in preventing the shooting of hares during the breeding season.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has not made a formal assessment of the Code of Practice for Brown Hare Management and Welfare in England and its effectiveness in preventing the shooting of hares during the breeding season. Defra holds no official statistics on the number of hares shot in England and can therefore make no official estimate of the number of hares shot during the breeding period. While the Code urges those who might lethally control hares to not carry out such activity from 1 March to 31 July, the Governmentâs understanding is that most hare shooting currently occurs in February when the gamebird season ends, despite many adult female hares being pregnant or even already nursing their young.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the operation and outcomes of statutory close seasons for hares in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and whether they intend to align the level of protection for hares in England with those in other parts of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive have indeed already introduced close seasons for their populations of hare. Whilst the UK Government has made no formal assessment of these measures, we will consider lessons from the experience in Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, wildlife management is a devolved activity and the precise nature of any changes in England will be considered on their own merit.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made towards the introduction of a statutory close season for hares in England; whether they have identified a legislative vehicle for that purpose; and when they intend to bring forward that legislation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A statutory close season for hares is consistent with Natural England's advice on wildlife management that controlling species in their peak breeding season should be avoided unless genuinely essential and unavoidable. Defra Ministers support the ambition to introduce a close season for hares in England.
However, the Government needs a suitable primary legislative vehicle in place to deliver this change. While I cannot therefore offer a timeframe for bringing this legislative change forward, Defra will do its utmost to identify suitable opportunities to enable the Government to introduce a close season for hares in England.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing interim measures to protect hares during their breeding season pending the introduction of a statutory close season.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have not considered any interim legislative measures to protect hares during their breeding season pending the introduction of a statutory close season. However, it is reasonable to assume that changes to hare coursing legislation, brought in under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, along with improved police tactics, intelligence and information sharing as well as the use of community protection notices (CPN) and criminal behaviour orders (CBO), has had an effect in terms of reducing levels of hare coursing in recent years, both within the haresâ breeding season and outside it. We are also committed to delivering our legally-binding biodiversity targets on species abundance, species extinction and habitat creation and restoration. This is helping to drive forward action to improve habitat such as open grassland which brown hares rely on to flourish.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for introducing legislation to introduce a close season for hares in England, following the publication of DEFRAâs Action Plan for Animal Welfare in 2021; and what plans they have for a consultation with stakeholders in that regard.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only, with the potential for relevant policy to extend and apply to Wales.
The Government has no immediate plans to legislate to introduce a close season for hares in England. The Action Plan for Animal Welfare in 2021 made a commitment to consider such legislation and it remains an option. An industry-led, non-statutory code of practice to protect hares in England is already in place which states that lethal control to prevent damage to crops should only be carried out in the winter months of January and February when vegetation is low and hares are easily visible. These months avoid the main breeding season and thereby reduce risks to dependent young.
The Government therefore has no current plans to formally consult with stakeholders on this issue.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for introducing legislation to introduce a closed season for hares in England, following the publication of DEFRAâs Action Plan for Animal Welfare in 2021; and what consultations they have had with stakeholders in that regard.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Government has no current plans to legislate to introduce a close season for hares in England. The Action Plan for Animal Welfare in 2021 made a commitment to consider such legislation and it remains an option. An industry-led, non-statutory code of practice to protect hares in England is already in place which states that lethal control to prevent damage to crops should only be carried out in the winter months of January and February when vegetation is low and hares are easily visible. These months avoid the main breeding season and thereby reduce risks to dependent young.
The Government has had no formal consultations with stakeholders on this issue since the publication of the Action Plan for Animal Welfare but we have heard representations from interested parties, both in support of and opposed to a close season for hares.