28/07/2026
Four hare coursing offenders have been convicted of hunting and driving offences at Grimsby Magistrates Court this week following an investigation by our Rural Task Force.
Robert Doig, 27-years-old, of Dalwhamie Street in Kinross, was found guilty of careless driving, driving whilst disqualified, and illegally hunting a wild mammal with dogs under Section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004. He received a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months, a 21-month driving ban, and was ordered to pay a £550 fine, £160 in court costs as well as a £154 victim surcharge.
Joseph Smith, 41-years old, of Golden Hind Drive in Worcestershire and Tony Taylor, 24-years-old, of Hodfar Road in Worcestershire were found guilty of illegally hunting a wild mammal with dogs under Section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004. They both received a £750 fine, collection orders, and were ordered to pay £160 in court cost as well as a £300 victim surcharge.
Walter Varey, 31-years-old, of Paradise Farm in Bedfordshire was also found guilty of illegally hunting a wild mammal with dogs under Section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004. He received a £550 fine, a collection order, and was ordered to pay £160 in court costs as well as a £220 victim surcharge.
In addition, both Doig and Smith received five-year Criminal Behaviour Orders, the conditions of which are they must not:
- Be present on any private or agricultural land within Humberside without written permission of the landowner which can be presented to an officer upon request
- Be present in any vehicle with a sighthound, greyhound, lurcher type dog or crossbreed which is not registered and/or microchipped whilst outside a 5-mile radius of their home.
In September 2025, officers from our Rural Task Force were deployed to an incident in Kilpin, East Riding of Yorkshire. With support from the Roads Policing Unit, Dog Section and our partners from the National Police Air Service (NPAS), all four offenders were pursued, located and subsequently arrested in Burringham, North Lincolnshire.
Following a search of all four men as well as a vehicle a search, officers discovered and seized a thermal scope, slip leads and GPS equipment.
They were brought into custody to be interviewed where they each provided “No Comment” accounts. Working closely with the Crown Prosecution service, they were each charged.
