Farmers terrorised by hare coursing in quiet Essex village that is 'live streamed to gamblers in China'
Farmers and landowners in a sleepy village in North Essex are too afraid to give their names for fear of the consequences from hare coursers, saying they are being "terrorised" by those responsible.
Listen to this article
LBC was granted exclusive access to Essex Police's Rural Engagement Team, after farmers from Lindsell, in Uttlesford, said they were fearing for their safety after an increase in hare coursing.
Hare coursing is an illegal blood sport where dogs chase hares across open, often flat farmland. It usually involves gambling, with high stakes placed on the dogs speed, or the number of "turns" made until the animal is caught by a hound.
In 2004 the practice was made illegal through the Hunting Act, and today can be punishable with an unlimited fine or up to six months in prison - yet the practice persists.
In Lindsell, a quiet village with just a few hundred residents in Uttlesford, Essex Police's Rural Engagement Team is attempting to crack down on those responsible.
Inspector Terry Jacobs says it's a priority for the force, with two thirds of the county classed as rural.
"People are out in these areas because it's rural and isolated. There aren't many people around, there's not passers by - and that is what plays into the advantage of those hare coursing", he told LBC.
The senior officer who heads up the Rural Engagement Team said that it was "close knit" communities involved in the rural criminality with "a lot of money involved".
"There is anecdotal evidence this is live streamed", he added.
LBC understands through one police source that it has been live streamed to China for people to bet on. Government minister Luke Pollard previously supported this claim back in 2022, with similar comments made by the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson.
Despite strong words and increased patrols, however, those who fall victim to this crime are at a loss.
Two farmers LBC visited in Uttlesford didn't want to be named, with one telling us that they've experienced "nearly 200 incidents of hare coursing this season since crops were combined in July".
They also claimed farmers had been assaulted, with one in a neighbouring county having their "jaw broken with [an] iron bar[s]".
"The hare coursers know they're going to get away with it", the farmer told LBC.
Inspector Jacobs acknowledged that those perpetrating the crime "will threaten, be abusive, and they'll be violent to land owners" as well as driving over fields and damaging crops. He explained that with few passers by, and the quiet nature of the village, it plays into the advantage of the criminals.
Essex Police report a spike in the number of reports across the county this year. In 2025 there were 181 hare coursing incidents reported - whilst 2026 saw 325 reports.
Though not every report is a confirmed case of hare coursing, there is a growing recognition of the scale of the issue by police. The rural engagement team have carried out 192 patrols of the Uttlesford district, with 14 specific engagement meetings in the Lindsell and Stebbing area - as well as a number of reassurance and prevention visits to victims of the crime.
Officers here point to new technology techniques such as trail cameras and a drone in order to catch offenders.
PC Luke Jones told LBC that the force, using funds from the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), was able to authorise the purchase of 11 trail cameras, with 7 deployments in Lindsell leading to "excellent results".
Meanwhile acting Sergeant Callum Barber said the deployment of a drone were a "really important tool" allowing a birds eye view from the technology allows enables "gold standard evidence" by using the zoom to see a car's number plate from around a mile away.
Other forces including Nottinghamshire, Hampshire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Shropshire have also reported hare coursing incidents this year.
Despite a renewed focus, however, farmers say nothing will change as those perpetrating the crime "know they'll get away with it".
One landowner told LBC that "you cannot approach" these "very threatening" criminals.
"We've spent hundreds of hours just to keep these people off, we're out three times a day as a very minimum checking that they're not driving on crops, destroying gates or generally terrorising us as local farmers".
He added "the Rural Engagement Team have been good but the local policing teams won't get off the road, even when people are hare coursing in front of them, they will tells us they will never get to the location in time".
"The hare coursers just disappear when the police do turn up. It is the same offenders week in, week out".
An Essex Police spokesperson said "We rely on reports from the public to help us target our operational activity. If you don’t tell us, we don’t know where it’s happening. If you see hare coursing taking place, ring 999 to report a crime in progress".
"Please provide as much information as you can, including a precise location, but don’t put yourself at risk.”