Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Answers of 25 October 2023 to Question 203472 on Hare Coursing: Convictions and Prosecutions and 28 February 2018 to Question 129098 on Hare Coursing: Prosecutions, when the Crown Prosecution Service ceased maintaining a central record of the number of prosecutions for offences of hare coursing; and for what reason.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has never maintained a central record of the number of prosecutions specifically for offences of hare coursing and only holds data on the number of offences prosecuted under the Game Act 1831, the Night Poaching Act 1828 and the Hunting Act 2004, which all encompass hare coursing.

The CPS does not collect data that constitutes official statistics as defined in the Statistics and Registration Act 2007.

While the CPS does not centrally collate data showing the number of prosecutions involving hare coursing, management information data is available which shows the number of offences charged by way of the Game Act 1831, the Night Poaching Act 1928 and the Hunting Act 2004, in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of these offences recorded during each of the last three years.

Data Source: CPS Case Management System

It should be noted that the figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It may be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence. No data are held on the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.

The official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office and the official statistics relating to sentencing, criminal court proceedings, offenders brought to justice, the courts and the judiciary are maintained by the Ministry of Justice.