Nine mutilated hares found dumped on Gloucestershire lane

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 10:33 · Archive

Nine mutilated hares were discovered dumped along a lane near Westerleigh in Gloucestershire on Thursday, October 8.

Nine mutilated hares were discovered on Besom Lane near Westerleigh on Thursday, October 8. The bodies were found placed 15 to 20 metres apart. Several hares had been decapitated, and one bore teeth marks on its stomach that could have been inflicted by a dog.

The dead hares were taken to the RSPCA Merthyr Clinic, and Avon and Somerset Police were contacted. RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Kirsty Morgan is investigating the case.

Morgan suggested the animals were likely killed elsewhere by hare coursers and then transported to the remote lane in a vehicle. 'Some of these hares were decapitated and it was quite an awful sight really,' she said. 'There are no hares known to be living in this area, so someone may have collected them into a vehicle and driven them to the location. They were 15 metres apart at the side of the lane, so it looks like someone was throwing them out of a vehicle.' The RSPCA appealed for information about unusual vehicle activity in the days before the discovery. Hare coursing, which involves chasing and killing hares with dogs, is illegal and often involves gangs trespassing on land using greyhounds and lurchers.

How it is being reported

• Badly mutilated hares found on quiet laneAmong them were several headless carcassesGloucestershire Live · 22 Oct, 20:48
• Outrage after mutilated hares found dumped in country laneNINE hares have been found mutilated and dumped along a Gloucestershire lane, prompting an RSPCA appeal for information.Wilts & Glos Standard · 22 Oct, 18:18

In this story: RSPCA · Kirsty Morgan · Besom Lane · Westerleigh · Gloucestershire · Avon and Somerset Police

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