Police in the Wells area are urging rural residents to remain vigilant for signs of poaching following concerns raised across local farmland and villages.

Wells Rural Neighbourhood Policing Team issued the warning as part of its latest community policing update, highlighting that offenders often operate during darker evenings and early mornings.

Poaching is illegal and can cause significant harm to wildlife, farmland and livestock, police say. It can also involve trespassing, property damage and may be linked to wider rural crime.

What officers are looking for

Police say poaching activity can take a number of forms, including:

• Illegal hunting of deer, hare or game
• Entering private land without permission to take wildlife
• Using lamps, lurcher dogs or other equipment to hunt at night
• Activity in fields or woodland outside permitted hunting seasons

Residents are also being asked to look out for warning signs in rural areas.

These can include vehicles parked in gateways, tracks or laybys late at night, bright lamps sweeping across fields, or people walking through farmland where they should not be.

Patrols across Mendip countryside

The neighbourhood policing team says officers have been carrying out additional rural patrols across the Mendip area in response to concerns about wildlife crime.

Police have also been speaking with farmers and landowners to gather intelligence and share information about how suspicious activity can be reported.

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Recent rural crime training has also been delivered to officers to strengthen their ability to respond to poaching and countryside offences.

How residents can report concerns

Police say community reports are vital to help build intelligence and plan patrols.

Residents who see suspicious activity are asked to contact police on 101. If a crime is taking place, they should dial 999.

Officers say reports about vehicles, lamps being used at night, or suspicious activity on farmland can help them take action against offenders.

The neighbourhood team also thanked residents who attended recent beat surgeries and rural community meetings, saying public information continues to help shape local policing priorities.

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