‘It’s a matter of time before a farmer is seriously injured’: on the trail of hare coursers in Wiltshire

Police show the Guardian around hotspots for a rural crime that has links to international gangs – and is on the rise

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cold, bright afternoon in the Vale of Pewsey and a couple of brown hares were nibbling away in a field of winter barley. It was a tranquil scene in this tucked-away corner of the English West Country but tyre tracks cutting through the crop were a sign of the violence that takes place when night falls.

This is one of the hotspots in Wiltshire for hare coursing, in which criminal gangs set dogs – usually greyhounds or lurchers – on the mammals.

Typically, bets are placed on how many “turns” it will take for the hound to catch and kill a hare, with some chases livestreamed so that gamblers across the world can take part.