No Lamping Matter: RSPCA Urged to Investigate Hartlepool Rabbit ‘Killing Field’..

Rabbit Carcasses Left Behind as Suspected Lamping Gang Targets Hartlepool Trading Estate

Bloodsport on a Hartlepool Business Park after Rabbits found savagely Killed on Hartlepool Estate...

27th Sep 2026

(Warning, Contains Images of Dead Animals)

An apparent 'bloodsport' taking place under the cover of darkness on a Hartlepool trading estate has been reported to the RSPCA, after a Teesside & Durham Post investigation uncovered allegations that wild animals are being deliberately targeted with dogs, bait and digging equipment on a Hartlepool Business Park.

The Industrial Estate has been described as a “killing field” by one member of the public after a number of dead rabbit carcasses were discovered amid claims groups of youths have been using the site to deliberately hunt and kill the animals for sick entertainment.

The Teesside & Durham Post visited the location following a tip-off, where it was alleged that so-called “lamping” was taking place on the industrial estate.

The witness claimed rabbits living around the site were being deliberately flushed out of their nests, before dogs — including terrier-type animals — were then used to chase the animals to their deaths and savagely killing them.

Even more disturbing is the alleged claims that the group of up to six people involved were then seen 'laughing' and goading the dogs on as the dogs fiercely tore the animals to pieces.

Rabbits dug out for cruel kicks....

Torn To Pieces: One particular Rabbit was destroyed in what can only be described as 'brutal' & inhumane..

Information supplied to the Teesside & Durham Post suggests the activity goes considerably further than just simply shining lights across an open ground and shooting the animals humainly.

It's alleged that those involved have been arriving equipped with dogs and digging equipment, locating areas where rabbits are believed to be nesting or sheltering underground. Holes and burrows are then being widened or disturbed in an apparent attempt to gain access to the animals before terriers are then introduced into the nest to drag the animals out.

Dead rabbits have then subsequently been 'torn to shreds' close to the locations where they've been killed.

The Post understands that inexpensive vehicles, usually 4x4s— described by sources as so-called “pool cars” — are also be being used to travel to and from the Hartlpeool Trading estate, with the vehicles purchased for just a few hundred pounds through local online selling groups.

What is lamping?

Whilst Lamping to control the population of Wild Rabbits is seen as 'necessary' in some rural communities, it raises the bigger question about the activity taking place in Hartlepool

“Lamping” commonly refers to hunting at night using a powerful lamp or spotlight to locate animals.

The light can illuminate or temporarily disorientate wildlife, allowing hunters or dogs to pursue it.

However, the legal position is more complicated than simply saying lamping is banned.

Rabbits are not afforded the same blanket protection as certain protected species, and the RSPCA itself notes that common wild animals such as rabbits are not protected from all forms of killing, although particular methods of killing wildlife can be prohibited.

Under the Hunting Act 2004, hunting a wild mammal with a dog is generally an offence unless an exemption applies.

Crucially, however, Schedule 1 of the Act contains a specific exemption for rabbits.

Hunting rabbits with dogs can therefore be lawful where it takes place on land belonging to the hunter or where the hunter has been given permission by the occupier or landowner to use the land for that purpose.

That distinction could prove important for the incident seen in Hartlepool, wherre, if people are entering commercial or privately controlled land without permission specifically to hunt rabbits, the rabbit exemption under the Hunting Act may not apply.

There was enough evidence for our reporter to see that none of the rabbits killed on the Industrial Estate were down to Natural Causes

Permission to control rabbits however does not provide carte blanche for deliberate cruelty.

The Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 makes it an offence, subject to statutory exceptions, intentionally to carry out certain acts against a wild mammal with the intention of inflicting unnecessary suffering.

Those acts include mutilating, kicking, beating, stabbing, burning, crushing, drowning, dragging and asphyxiating a wild mammal.

The legislation does contain exceptions connected with lawful hunting and pest control, including acts done by a dog lawfully being used to kill or take a wild mammal.

There could also be animal-welfare concerns surrounding the dogs themselves, where under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, a person responsible for an animal can commit an offence where an act or failure to act causes that protected animal unnecessary suffering and the statutory requirements are met.

Working dogs used underground or against wild animals can themselves suffer serious injuries.

RSPCA urged to Investigate....

The Teesside & Durham Post is forwarding its findings to the RSPCA for the consideration on an investigation to be launched,

The RSPCA specifically identifies lamping and hunting with dogs among the types of wildlife-crime activity investigated by its specialist teams.

Its Special Operations Unit says it investigates wildlife offences including “lamping and hunting with dogs”, while the charity advises anyone who suspects wildlife crime to report it either to the RSPCA or police.

The charity also warns that wildlife crime can increasingly have an online element, with social media being used to organise or share hunting and animal-cruelty activity.

‘It isn't pest control if it is being done for entertainment’

It was clear to see by our reporter that at least four of the animals found had suffered horrific injuries

There is an important distinction between legitimate rabbit control carried out by a landowner or somebody acting with permission and allegations of individuals entering land to kill animals for entertainment.

Businesses and landowners have legitimate reasons for controlling rabbit populations in some circumstances.

But the allegations now being examined by the Teesside & Durham Post paint a very different picture: young people allegedly arriving at an industrial estate, disturbing burrows, releasing dogs and leaving the mutilated carcasses behind.

Evidence has been handed to RSPCA...

The Teesside & Durham Post has passed its findings to the RSPCA asking the organisation to investigate what's happening at the Hartlepool site & to make authorities aware of our findings.

Anyone witnessing suspected wildlife crime should avoid confronting those involved and instead record information safely where possible — including dates, times, vehicle details and locations — before reporting the matter to the police.

What may look from a distance like youngsters wandering across an industrial estate with dogs could, according to the allegations now being examined, represent something substantially darker.

You only have to shudder to think that those taking pleasure out of an animals death could be capable of much worse acts of crimes.

For the rabbits being chased from their burrows and the animals allegedly left dead across the site, this really is no lamping matter.

Copyright Notice: This article is an original work of The Teesside & Durham Post and is protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

© 2026 The Teesside & Durham Post. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be copied, reproduced, republished or redistributed, in whole or in substantial part, without prior written permission, except where permitted by law for purposes such as quotation, criticism, review or reporting current events with sufficient acknowledgement.