Stamp out rural crime

Stamp out rural crime

The National Farmers’ Union partners with Crimestoppers to provide the Rural Crime Hotline service. Tell us what you know about rural crime 100% anonymously.

If you have information call the Rural Crime Hotline on 0800 783 0137 or complete the online form. Stay 100% anonymous. Always.
 


Rural crime is on the rise and it's a serious issue for farmers, businesses and those who live in the countryside.

    

Whether it's large-scale, industrial fly-tipping, hare coursing, theft or arson, rural crime has a devastating effect on farms and other rural businesses.

Those responsible for this blight on our countryside are suspected of having links to
organised crime. It is vital that we bring them to justice. 

That’s where you can help. 

Call the dedicated Rural Crime Hotline on 0800 783 0137 or complete the online form to give information anonymously about rural crimes including:

  • Fly-tipping, including large-scale and/or hazardous waste

  • Hare coursing and poaching
  • Theft, including machinery, livestock, metal, fuel and pesticide
  • Access, including activism, illegal encampments, trespass and fly-grazing
  • Livestock worrying, including dog attacks and illegal sheep butchering
  • Arson or criminal damage to agricultural property, land or other farm buildings

What are these crimes?

Large-scale, industrial fly-tipping is simply the illegal dumping of large amounts of waste, usually on farmland, blighting our countryside. In 2017/18 there were 998,000 incidents of fly-tipping, costing local authorities and private land owners £12.2 million to clear.
 
When fly-tipping takes place on private land, it is the landowner’s responsibility to remove the dumped waste, often at great cost. Items dumped are also often dangerous to human health, wildlife, livestock and the environment.
This is the pursuit of hares with dogs, often for the purposes of betting. It takes place on areas of flat, open land where the dogs can easily and visibly pursue the hare. It is typically carried out by large groups of people who travel long distances.

It is illegal under the Hunting Act but it also has other impacts. For example, fences and gates can be damaged by vehicles forcibly trying to gain access to land. Once in a field, it is common practise to film the chase from a moving vehicle, which can inflict significant damage to the field and any crops within it. The dogs and hares can also be injured or killed during the chase.
This can be a lucrative criminal activity due to the prices that can often be received for cattle and sheep. Farmers can lose hundreds of animals, and some regularly lose one or two, both of which can have a huge impact on their livelihoods.

Stealing significant quantities of animals from a field, by its nature, requires organisation as stock needs to be handled and housed. The theft of stock leads to significant financial losses, and can also have further impacts on businesses, including the loss of breeding stock.

More recently, there have been increased incidences of illegal sheep butchery, which is not only a devastating crime for farmers and their businesses, it's also hugely distressing for other livestock and could have an impact on the food chain.
Farm machinery is often expensive and farms are dependent on it. A stolen tractor could mean crops can’t be harvested, and a stolen quad bike means livestock can’t be fed. There isn’t a big market for second-hand farm machinery in the UK, so high value items can often be stolen to order and then sent abroad.

Farmers have experienced violence when confronting thieves on their land, which is often remote and difficult to secure and can leave them feeling insecure in their own homes. 

You can give information about these and other rural crimes including illegal encampments, trespass, fly-grazing, pesticide theft, arson or criminal damage to agricultural land or buildings, 100% anonymously by calling the Rural Crime Hotline on 0800 783 0137 or visiting www.ruralcrimehotline.co.uk.
 

If you have any information to share, please contact the Rural Crime Hotline on 0800 783 0137 or go to the online form. 100% anonymous. Always.

For more information on rural crime, click here or visit the National Famers’ Union’s Rural Crime Hub.
 

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