| Security
New police operation launched to tackle poaching in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire police have recently launched Operation Artemis in a bid to tackle all aspects of poaching across the county.
he public are
encouraged to
report all incidents
of poaching to help
build a better
intelligence picture
and enable our officers to target
offenders through rural operations.
The operation will also aim to
advise our rural communities how
they can best prevent and disrupt
poaching activity on their land.
The operation sits under the
nationally recognised poaching
operation Project Trespass which
aims to coordinate action across
England and Wales through
prevention, intelligence,
enforcement and reassurance.
Rural Crime Officer PC Marc
Jackson said: “As part of the rural
crime partnership we have listened
to the concerns of landowners,
T
farmers, game keepers and
agricultural workers within
Wiltshire.
“We understand the impact
poaching has on their livelihoods
and the resulting fear of crime that
comes from this.
“We want Operation Artemis to
reassure our rural communities
that we do take poaching
seriously, and anybody found to
be committing such offences here
will be dealt with robustly. Wiltshire
is not a soft touch and we will use
the full legislation powers that
have been given to us as the
police.
“The image of poaching has
drastically changed over the years.
The idea of poachers just taking
one for the pot is no longer the
case.
“Many of the groups involved
38 | Farming Monthly | October 2017
are very organised and travel vast
distances, across numerous
counties to participate in
poaching.
“Often poaching involves vast
amounts of money through illegal
betting and can be connected to
other crimes like burglaries, thefts
and can involve intimidation and
violence towards landowners and
gamekeepers.”
Poaching becomes more
frequent when the harvests come
down at the end of the summer,
peaking in October and
December. This year harvests have
been early so potential poachers
can access the fields earlier than
usual meaning we are already
seeing an increase in poaching in
September.
Poaching can take many forms,
from hare coursing, shooting deer
at night to using catapults to take
pheasants.
Police and Crime Commissioner
Angus Macpherson said:
“Wiltshire is a rural county and
those living in isolated locations
can be vulnerable to crime types
that do not affect urban areas.
“It is important that the Force
police rural crime as part of its
overall policing.
“Rural crime can have a huge
impact on local people and
businesses. I welcome this new
operation and applaud the
ongoing work being done by the
Rural Crime Team and the
Wiltshire Rural Crime Partnership
to help keep Wiltshire safe.”
When reporting incidents, call
101 and quote ‘Operation Artemis’.
If a crime is in progress call 999.
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk