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Hare coursers are openly selling dogs and organising illegal meets on Facebook groups where they share photos showing piles of corpses and boast of racking up 'hundreds of kills', the Daily Mail can reveal.
The bloodsport, in which dogs earn points both for a kill and for how often they make their prey twist and turn during the chase, was banned in the UK under the 2005 Hunting Act.
But police say the number of illegal events has surged tenfold in recent years - driven by the involvement of organised crime gangs who invade farms and intimidate their owners before unleashing lurchers or greyhounds on wild hares.
The mobs are often armed with weapons and clad in military clothing and balaclavas. They compete for prizes of up to £50,000, while the gangland organisers earn vast sums from facilitating black market bets.
The lucrative prizes on offer to owners of the deadliest dogs have produced a thriving market for puppies and adult canines, which can sell for more than £10,000.
One group specifically dedicated to the illegal bloodsport - 'East Midlands Hare Coursing' - was hosted by Facebook for more than a decade before it was finally removed yesterday after the Mail got in touch.
Users regularly shared adverts offering dogs for sale, with the posts frequently accompanied by macabre photos showing the animals next to piles of dead hares or chasing live ones.
A man posing with a dog and hare corpses on the 'East Midlands Hare Coursing' Facebook group
Another advert for a dog on the group, which Facebook has removed after the Daily Mail got in touch
Posts on the group were frequently accompanied by macabre photos showing dogs next to piles of dead hares or chasing live ones.
While many users used pseudonyms or hid their faces in photos, others openly paraded their identities.
One user described how they had enjoyed a 'cracking day out' in a post accompanied by a photo of a man holding a dog standing over a dead hare in a farmer's field.
No attempt was made to hide the illegal nature of the activity.
After one user asked whether anyone knew of any people who were willing to give permission to hare coursing on their land, an account called 'Yorkshire Landscapetrees' replied by saying 'can't get permission nowadays it's illegal'.
A second person responded by telling the user he could 'go anywhere ya [sic] want' while a third recommended targeting unwitting farmers because it offers 'more excitement'.
A second hare coursing group on Facebook claims to be based in Ireland - where hare coursing is legal - but included an advert for a dog owned by someone in Worcestershire.
The post describes a dog called Bruce that has 'killed 100s [of] rabbits, hares [and] deer'. It added that the animal 'runs day and night... he f*g loves it'. The group was also removed after the Mail contacted Facebook.
Some posts refer to 'lamping' - another form of hunting that uses high-powered lights to disorientate animals before they are killed by dogs. Lamping itself is not inherently illegal, but it becomes illegal if live dogs are set on prey or it takes place on land without a landowner's permission.
Freedom of Information requests to police show there have been 9,000 reports of hare coursing over the past three years.
Two years ago, children in Awbridge, Hampshire, were left traumatised after arriving at school to find 20 hare and rabbit carcasses, as well as the beheaded body of a deer, dumped outside the building.
One user described how they had enjoyed a 'cracking day out' in a post accompanied by a photo of a man holding a dog standing over a dead hare in a field of crops
An advert for a dog costing £650. Some of the deadliest dogs can sell for upwards of £10,000
One user asked whether anyone knew of any people who were willing to give permission to hare coursing on their land
In response, an account called 'Yorkshire Landscapetrees' replied by saying 'can't get permission nowadays it's illegal'
Seven miles north, 50 dead hares were strewn near the entrance of Broughton's village shop alongside a dead barn owl and kestrel tied to the door handle.
The grim scenes are believed to be an intimidation tactic by gangs or a way of taunting the local communities they menace.
Hare coursers often carry weapons including knives, firearms and machetes, while one landowner told how he was confronted by a masked man carrying a catapult loaded with ball bearings.
And in one of the largest events held last year, Cambridgeshire farmer Mathew Latta watched on as a dozen 4x4s raced across his field after passengers cut open iron gates with an angle-grinder.
More than 70 people then brought out dogs, began hunting hares and started gambling on their kills, all while blasting loud party music.
Cambridgeshire Police believe participants travelled from across England and Wales and completed a 20-mile distraction route to reduce their chances of being caught – forcing other cars off the road and robbing a petrol station on the way.
Mr Latta told the BBC that he saw gang members in their cars watching kills through binoculars.
'This was 100 per cent a properly organised coursing event, with competitors and competitive dogs,' he said. 'It was quite terrifying.'
His frightened seven-year-old daughter kept asking: 'Are these men going to come inside, Daddy?'
Dozens of dead animals were left outside a village shop in Broughton, Hampshire
A man was captured on CCTV dumping the animals
The Super 8 Cup, which was given out to winning owners at hare coursing events but is now in a police storeroom
The event lasted for around three hours and the criminals left behind four cars – one a burnt-out wreck. Cambridgeshire Police have since arrested more than 40 people and charged 25, several of whom have now been convicted.
In a search of one address, they discovered the 2ft-tall Super 8 Cup engraved with images of dogs and hares along with the names of previous winning owners.
A video obtained by the BBC showed a group of eight men drinking in a pub as they haggled over the price of the 2025 Super 8 Cup champion. The lurcher was eventually sold for £55,000.
Chief Inspector Kevin Lacks-Kelly, head of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, said: 'Some of these lads are making a fortune. You've got some of the country's best-organised criminals. They're like a small army.'
Mr Lacks-Kelly said his team has identified 27 of the country's worst offenders for hare coursing and all but five of them have links to organised crime.
'These are violent criminals that abuse people, animals, women. Carry weapons, firearms, and make threats. These are not the people that you want in your community,' he said.
A Meta spokesman said: 'We have removed the groups brought to our attention for violating our policies.'