South Yorkshire pair banned from entering Humberside Police force area after deer hunting conviction

Scott Hayes of Blakewood Drive, Blaxton and Christopher Darwin of Laycock Avenue, Doncaster were sentenced to a one-year community order and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work at Grimsby Magistrates Court last week.

The pair, aged 24 and 28, were also handed three-year Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) and must pay £350 in court costs and an £85 victim surcharge. The CBO restricts the men from entering the Humberside Police area, except to catch a plane, ferry, or for work.

They are also banned from entering private farmland with a dog in England and Wales without written permission for duration of the CBO.

Both men were arrested on Christmas Eve last year after being found coming off private farm land with “lurcher-type dogs” at East Lound near Haxey in North Lincolnshire.

Humberside Police said they had received several reports of two men using dogs to pursue a group of Roe deer in the area.

The body of a freshly killed male Roe deer was discovered close to where the men were detained. The injuries found on the animal were consistent with it having being killed by dogs.

Chief inspector Paul Butler said: “This court result should send out a very clear message to those who commit wildlife offences that we take these offences seriously and will seek other sanctions available to the courts.

“The obtaining of CBOs in this case provides other police forces with a straight forward tool to deal with these men if they choose to commit wildlife offences with the use of the type of dog involved.”

Poaching, which includes the poaching of deer, is a National Wildlife Crime priority.

Humberside Police say deer poaching can involve extreme cruelty to the animals targeted, especially when dogs are used to chase and drag them down.

The force say many offenders operate across several counties, travelling long distances to target specific locations.