Poaching is an abhorrent crime - men caught red-handed with dead animals in car
“Poaching is an abhorrent crime” - the words of Durham Constabulary's Inspector Andy Reeves after three men were found in a vehicle with dead rabbits and hares.
The arrests were made after reports of poaching involving a specific car in the Weardale area.
Durham Constabulary tracked down the car, which was stopped an seized.
A spokesperson said: “The driver and his two passengers, from the Haswell area, were found in possession of several dead rabbits and hares.
“The men, aged 32, 28 and 29, were issued with a nine-force poaching Community Protection Warning (CPW) as part of Operation Hawkeye.
“The force has been using CPWs since 2021 but in 2022 went a step further by joining up with eight other forces so they could act as one.
“This means that cross-border poachers can no longer jump from one force area to another to avoid prosecution.”
If the men are caught poaching in any of the nine-force areas again, they will be handed a Community Protection Notice (CPN) which helps officers deal with those suspected of committing rural and wildlife crime instead of relying on the more traditional poaching and trespass legislation which can be difficult to prove in a court of law.
Durham Constabulary’s Rural lead, Inspector Andy Reeves, said: “Poaching is an abhorrent crime that brings harm to our rural communities and we will not tolerate it.
“These poachers now have their cards marked and we hope it sends a message to other opportunists that our rural communities are not an easy target thanks to our dedicated rural members.”