Five men from Surrey suspected of hare coursing have been ordered to leave Lincolnshire, with officers also seizing two of their dogs.
Two men in a Honda CR-V were stopped by police in Bourne on Sunday, December 17, and were given dispersal notices requiring them to leave the county.
The force has said there was no evidence to support a prosecution, but the orders allowed officers to keep the dogs for the rest of the day to prevent hare coursing in neighbouring counties.
Three other men from Surrey were given dispersal notices after they were stopped in a Subaru in Deeping St Nicholas.
Lincolnshire Police have now seized 45 as part of Operation Galileo, a countywide crackdown on hare coursing.
Chief Superintendent Mark Housley said: “The tactic of seizing dogs is a proportionate disruption tactic for officers to use to prevent offending.
“Hare coursing causes misery to our rural communities so we use all powers available to us to prevent and reduce offending.”
A police spokesperson added: “We are often asked what happens to the dogs that we seize.
“When the dogs are seized under our dispersal powers they are kept in secure kennels at a police station and returned at the end of the day.
“When we seize dogs as part of a prosecution they are cared for in approved kennels and we apply to the court for forfeiture upon conviction.”
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