A Dundee man caught hare coursing on Angus farmland has claimed the poaching was being done for the pot and not in connection with criminality linked to the barbaric pursuit.
James McPhee was seen twice in fields near Forfar last year, hunting hares with lurcher-type dogs and now faces being electronically tagged after a sheriff at Forfar said the 48-year-old could be jailed for up to six months or fined as much as £5,000.
McPhee, from Bloomfield Crescent in Arbroath, has previous convictions for hare coursing, which was outlawed by legislation in 2002.
But his solicitor told the court that as a member of the country Travelling fraternity that the hunt was being done for food and not connected with gambling often linked to such incidents.
McPhee pleaded guilty to charges of hunting a brown hare with a dog at Carrot Farm on April 28 last year, and at Ingliston Farm, both near Forfar, on May 12.
Although it involves poaching, the court was told the activity often centres around the “thrill of the chase”, with owners betting on which dog will catch the hare.
Dogs can be sold for many thousands of pounds, with the activity at its height in spring or autumn.
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown heard that the April offence happened around 7pm when the farmer saw a silver Subaru Forrester parked in a field entrance and a lurcher/greyhound-type dog was seen chasing a hare two fields away. The farmer’s neighbour also witnessed the crime taking place.
McPhee, who had two other dogs in the car, then got in the vehicle and drove away.
In the second incident, around 7.30pm, four men were seen poaching, running through a field with a dog that was chasing a hare.
The four were then seen leaving in a silver Subaru and police found two lurcher-type dogs in the car.
McPhee’s solicitor said: “Despite the information regarding the background to this type of matter, my client comes from the country Travelling fraternity and his position is that hare coursing has been a means of filling the pot, so there is no question of gambling or anything else involved in the commission of this offence.
“My client accepts that on the days in question he had one of the dogs chasing hares.
“He has a considerable record in relation to unassociated matters and some convictions for previous offences of this kind.
“He is a mechanic, and runs a self-employed business as a car dealer based in Dundee.”
Sheriff Martin-Brown deferred sentence until next month for the preparation of a criminal justice social work report and Restriction of Liberty Order assessment.
The court decided not to impose a disqualification order which would have banned McPhee from keeping dogs.
