Gannon, who was previously convicted of running an illegal venison supply plant, was prosecuted following a police investigation into his activities initiated in January 2020.
Searches were carried out at a property in the Castlederg area and in two food processing plants in Coalisland and Scotland. This led to a further investigation into money laundering.
In court Gannon pleaded guilty to various charges in relation to the possession of criminal property.
Detective Chief Inspector Wilson said: “We welcome the outcome and want to remind the public and any business owners that we will continue to tackle all types of criminality including wildlife crime such as deer poaching and money laundering, investigating reports accordingly.
“The investigations into Mr Gannon’s unlawful activity, were conducted collaboratively with partners from the Food Standard Agency, Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, and Derry City and Strabane Environmental Health Council, which highlights our shared determination and commitment to disrupting these types of crime.
“Going forward, the local community is encouraged to report any similar incidents of deer poaching to police, to prevent this illegal activity taking place. I would also like to add that when investigating officers are considering wildlife crime other offences may be identified”.
Sentencing | 200 hours of community service; confiscation order for £6,000.
CONVICTED (2024) | John Smedley, 56, born c. 1967, of Priory Walk, Haddington EH41 4AJ – illegally shot and killed deer.
Smedley confessed to killing the roe deer without permission in Morham, East Lothian, and also admitted to having the animal’s carcass in his home at North Berwick on April 23, 2023.
He also pleaded guilty to a third charge of possessing a Texan Air Rifle Lethal Load weapon without lawful authority.
Smedley, who has a previous conviction for the same deer hunting offence, was blasted by a judge after trying to claim that shooting the animals was deemed “acceptable” in the area.
Sheriff Matthew Auchincloss stated: “I live in East Lothian and I can tell you that it’s certainly not acceptable to poach these animals.”
Commenting on the terrifying firearm Smedley owned, the judge added: “I have seen a picture of the rifle you used. It would have looked like a sniper rifle to anybody who didn’t know what it was if they saw you walking around with it.”
Fining Smedley £800, Sheriff Auchinloss continued: “That’s so you know it’s not worth your while hunting for deer – it would be much cheaper to just buy a carcass.”
Defence lawyer Mark Hutchison said his client had grown up watching his grandfather and father hunt for deer without any repercussions.
He explained: “Mr Smedley tells me that in East Lothian, there’s a culture of this kind of thing being acceptable. Obviously it’s not acceptable. I told him he will get the jail for doing it again and he said he’ll never do it again. “He’s never had a custodial sentence before and other than this matter, lives a pro-social life, working seven days a week.”
Addressing Smedley, Sheriff Auchincloss said: “This is not acceptable and is a crime. It may have been more accepted in your grandfather and father’s time.
“But time changes the law. I am satisfied that the custody threshold has been met. However, as this is a summary matter, I can only send you to prison if there are no other alternatives.”
A motion by Procurator Fiscal to have the rifle and ammunition forfeited was granted.
A source close to Smedley, who works as a scaffolder, claims he hunted the animals “for fun” and would allegedly give away the meat or feed it to his dog.
They added: “He’s done this before and I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t do it again. This sentence absolutely does not send the right message of deterring others.
“Everyone in Haddington honestly expected him to get the jail for his cruel actions. Where’s the justice for these animals?”
All four deer species found in Scotland – red, roe, fallow and sika – are protected under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996. Permission to shoot them must be granted by the authorities.
CONVICTED (2024) | brothers Kristen Christopher Cooper, born 2 May 1999, and Todd James Edward Cooper, born c. 1994, of 24 Westbury Close, Bransgore, Christchurch BH23 8AZ* – tortured wild animals to death and filmed their agonies.
Sadistic brothers Kristen Cooper (left) and Todd Cooper
Career criminal brothers Kristen and Todd Cooper, who are gypsies, made a series of sick videos showing hares and deer being abused and mutilated.
During one depraved incident, the pair mutilated the genitalia of a deer – to the extent that officials could not tell if the animal was male and female – and stabbed another in the eye on camera, causing an ‘extreme level of suffering’.
In another twisted video they held a hare by his head and encouraged a dog to bite him.
A vet reviewing the videos as part of the investigation described the footage, filmed in 2021 and 2022, as the “worst case of animal abuse” he had seen in his 24-year career.
“These images will stay with me forever,” he said.
Other videos showed deer being dragged by their antlers having appeared to have suffered spinal injuries from possibly being hit by a car, with one piece of footage showing a man raising a wooden object above a helpless deer’s head as if he was going to strike it.
The brothers were caught after police seized a phone containing the shocking videos.
Kristen Cooper was charged with seven counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal with Todd Cooper being accused of one count.
But after appearing at the crown court for these offences and being released on bail, just days later the pair were apprehended again after attacking a mother and her son outside a Co-Op in Betsy Lane in Bransgore on March 4, 2023.
In a video shown in court, the pair can be seen with a third unknown man, ramming another car before getting out and attacking the vehicle with a catapult, a crowbar and a baseball bat.
The victims of the attack later gave evidence at trial with the mother saying she “genuinely believed they wanted to kill us”.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Stuart Ellacott said the animal abuse was “sadistic” adding that the animals were in “distress and suffering”.
Aleks Lloyd, defending Kristen – who has eight convictions for ten offences – said this is the first time his client has been in custody adding that he “appears to be getting his head down and getting on with it”.
Ruba Huleihel defending Todd, who has 24 convictions for 52 offences, said her client has ADHD and was exposed to violence from a very young age.
Judge Peter Henry sentenced the pair for a variety of offences committed in the New Forest and in Dorset, including actual bodily harm, criminal damage and threatening a person with an offensive weapon.
He said: “One would have thought that both of you being brought up in the New Forest you would have had more respect for such defenceless creatures.
“It was being filmed, other people were present and other people seemed to find it all very amusing.”
Both men were given restraining orders banning them from ever contacting the mother and son they attacked ever again.
This image shows the Cooper brothers and an as yet unidentified accomplice participating in hare coursing, a cruel sport in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn a hare
Police Constable Sebastian Haggett, of Dorset Police’s Rural Crime Team – who led the case alongside Hampshire police – said after the sentencing: “These are without doubt some of the most horrifying offences I have ever investigated.”
Angharad Thomas, Senior Crown Prosecutor with CPS Wessex, said: “The level of cruelty displayed in this case is beyond comprehension and the brothers showed an inexplicable disregard for the welfare of these animals peacefully existing in the wild.
“An expert witness for the prosecution described the actions of Kristen and Todd Cooper as the worst case of animal abuse they had ever come across in their 24-year veterinary career.
“The CPS welcomes today’s sentence and hopes it sends a clear message that we will continue to work with the police to bring offenders of these disturbing crimes to justice.”
Sentencing | Kristen Cooper: jailed for five years; 10-year criminal behaviour order. Banned from owning a dog for ten years. Todd Cooper- jailed for three years and eight months.
CONVICTED (2023) | serial hare courser Liam Doherty, born c 1990, of Ince Road, Thornton, Liverpool L23 4UF – used dogs to hunt wild hares.
Doherty, who in January 2016 was convicted of the same offence* alongside Bootle men James Reid, born 1 October 1983, and Neil Walsh, born c. 1985, was convicted of hunting a wild mammal with dog/s under the Hunting Act 2004
He was prosecuted after officers from the South Rural Task Force were called to land near to the Lancashire/Merseyside border. It followed reports that a man had been seen hare coursing by the landowner in February 223.
Officers from Lancashire Constabulary attended and stopped and searched a 4×4 vehicle in a nearby residential street.
In a statement issued on October 9, 2023, South Rural Police Taskforce officer PC Helen Williams said: “Hare coursing can be extremely distressing for our community as offenders commit cruel acts towards our wildlife. It is a misconception for people to think this is a minor crime in the countryside.
“Those involved in hare coursing trespass on land, damaging crops and property. The measures farmers have to put in place to deter these offenders cost considerable amounts of money which in turn is passed onto food consumers.
“The South Rural Task Force is committed to stamping out wildlife crime in Lancashire and we would like to thank local farmers and landowners for reporting these offences.”
Sentencing | ordered to pay £537 in fines and costs. The vehicle used in the offence was also seized.
In January 2016 Liam Doherty, James Reid and Neil Walsh were all handed Criminal Behaviour Orders after being caught using dogs to poach protected brown hares on Lancashire farmland.
L-R Liam Doherty, James Reid, Neil Walsh
Doherty, at the time living in Crosby and Reid and Walsh, both from Bootle, were caught entering farmland with four dogs with the intent of hunting brown hares.
The 18-month order prohibited the men from entering a large area of West Lancashire with a dog or being in company with anyone with a dog, until June 2017.
James Reid
PC Ivan Leivers said: “These three men have regularly and routinely entered West Lancashire with the express intent of hunting a protected mammal – the brown hare – with their dogs.
“This order will ensure that if they continue to partake in this barbaric activity, they face the very real possibility of being given a custodial sentence.
“The other offenders who come here to carry out coursing should be warned we will apply for these orders wherever and whenever we can.”
CONVICTED (2023) | David Hilden, born 11 July 1983, of the travellers site in Lathams Way, Croydon CR0 4XP and Tyron Young, born c. 1997, of Bolton Drive, Morden SM4 6GF – for poaching offences.
Convicted for ‘poaching’: wildlife persecutors Tyron Young (left) and David Hilden
David Hilden and Tyron Young, who are both members of the travelling fraternity, were stopped by police officers while walking with four dogs across crop fields near Littlebury, Saffron Walden, Essex, on October 15, 2022. Two of the dogs were lurchers on slip leads.
There were no public footpaths in the area and the landowner had not given the men permission to be on the land.
The pair had had travelled to the area from south London with dogs which were to be used to poach game.
When interviewed by officers at the scene, Hilden said he had gone on to the land to pursue rabbits, while Young claimed to be walking his dog.
Pic: Essex Police
In court both men admitted a charge of daytime trespass in pursuit of game. In addition to a financial penalty, the men were banned from owning or keeping dogs for three years.
The banning order was the first made under section 66 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022,. The act means people can be handed disqualification orders for certain poaching offences and pursuing hares with dogs.
Investigating officer Pc Nigel Wright, of Essex Police’s Rural Engagement Team, said: “The poaching of wild animals is extremely cruel but it can also cause a lot of damage to crops and farmland, which is very costly for the land owner or farmer.
Sentencing | Hilden: ordered to pay a total of £273 in fine, costs and surcharge. Young: ordered to pay £385 in total. Both were banned from owning or keeping dogs for three years (expires February 2026).
CONVICTED (2022) | prolific poacher Ryan Thomas Spence, born c. 1990, of St Cuthberts Walk, Liverton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea TS13 4QL – hunted wild mammals with dogs.
Ryan Thomas Spence, a cocaine user with recent convictions for drink and drug driving, became the first offender in North Yorkshire to be given a Criminal Behaviour Order for poaching offences. He was also handed a six-month driving ban and just over £1,000 of fines.
Spence attended private farmland with three dogs in Normanby, near Kirkbymoorside in Ryedale, shortly before 9am on Tuesday February 15, 2022. Witnesses saw one of the dogs chasing a hare on the land and called the police, who attended the location and arrested Spence a short time later. Officers also seized the dogs.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said Spence is a prolific national offender, having previously been convicted of a number of poaching offences in North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, Norfolk and Scotland.
The Criminal Behaviour Order served to Spence prevents him from:
Trespassing on any land with a dog, firearm, or any item capable of firing a projectile
Straying from any highway, bridleway, or public right of way onto any land
Driving, or be in, a motor vehicle or mechanically propelled vehicle other than on a publicly maintained road without written permission of the landowner
Being part of a group involved in the hunting of any wild mammals with dogs or firearms or any items capable of firing a projectile
Inspector Clive Turner from the rural task force said: “Ryan Spence has caused significant harm to our rural communities over a number of years, and I’m pleased he has now faced the courts and we have been successful in having the Criminal Behaviour Order granted.
“Poaching is a serious offence, it damages local businesses, economies and communities.
“I encourage anyone who sees any suspicious activity in our rural areas to report it to the police. Even if you are not sure whether or not crime is being committed, your information might just be the missing piece of the jigsaw we need to bring offenders like Spence to justice.
“Please dial 101, press 1 and pass information to our control room. If you see a crime being committed, please dial 999.”
North Yorkshire Police reported that Ryan Spence had had his sentence increased at court.
Spence appealed the sentence imposed in September 2022. Happily his audacity was repaid as his driving ban was increased from six months to two years, and will now run from 23 February 2023. His original sentence was upheld.
The CBO remains in place, for five years from September 2022.
Inspector Clive Turner, from North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Task Force, said: “The message is crystal clear – we will respond robustly to any poachers who set foot in North Yorkshire. Poaching is a serious offence which, in addition to being a wildlife crime, causes damage to property and misery in rural communities.
“Anyone thinking of committing these offences in our area can expect hefty fines, lengthy driving bans, the forfeiture of their property and court orders to put a stop to their criminal activity. With the addition of a CBO, a realistic prospect of a prison sentence can be expected for breaching the order.
“I’d like to remind everyone about the importance of calling in any suspected poaching. If it’s a crime in progress, please dial 999 so we can take immediate action – or if you have information about who may be responsible, call us on 101 or report it online via our website.”
Ryan Spence is originally from Guisborough and retains family links to that area. His previous address was Dorset Road, Guisborough TS14 7EB.
As of April 2022 Spence had amassed 24 convictions for 39 offences,
In August 2017 Spence was convicted of hare coursing alongside Anthony Webster, born c. 1981, of The Pines, Holywell Row, near Mildenhall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk and Stuart Brunt, born 24 December1989, of 103 Copes Way, Chaddesden, Derby DE21 4NS .
Fellow wildlife persecutor Stuart Brunt from Chaddesden, Derby.
For this offence Spence was fined £5,000 and banned from having custody of dogs for five years. Webster was fined £600 and Brunt was fined £1,200, disqualified from keeping dogs for a year and ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.
CONVICTED (2022) | Connor Bell, born c. 1992, of Bexhill Road Sunderland SR5 4QH and Michael John Hutchinson, born c. 1983, of 20 Cranberry Road, Sunderland SR5 3PF – caught fishing illegally.
Bell and Hutchinson, who are known wildlife persecutors, were prosecuted after photographs and videos found both on a mobile and posted to a social media account highlighted illegal fishing activity.
Bell pleaded guilty to using unlicensed gill nets to catch salmon and sea trout on the River Wear, including at a location near Fatfield, Tyne and Wear. He was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.
In addition, he was ordered to pay £1,000 costs and a victim surcharge of £128.
Hutchinson was convicted of similar offences and one other offence of handling the illegally caught fish. He was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work. Hutchinson was also ordered to pay £1,000 costs and a victim surcharge of £128.
Representing the Environment Agency, lawyer Matthew Treece told the court that files on Bell’s mobile phone and Hutchinson’s social media pages had highlighted multiple weekends of illegal netting during the summers of 2020 and 2021, along with photographs of both men posing with catches of up to 14 fish at a time.
Images from Hutchinson’s Facebook profile also showed a relative, with the captured fish, along with comments from Hutchinson encouraging them to become a “fine young poacher.”
On sentencing, District Judge Garland told the defendants: “You don’t know how lucky you are to avoid going on a trip to Durham this morning. I view and the law views the things you were up to as extremely serious. These weren’t boyish pranks. You were out there putting a large net across a confined space of river where it was highly likely you were going to catch fish of one sort or another. And you did. If you hadn’t gone around bragging on Facebook about what fish you were catching, you wouldn’t have been in as much trouble as you are.”
Following the case David Shears, Senior Fisheries Enforcement Officer for the Environment Agency in the North East, said:
“With salmon stocks reaching crisis in many of England’s rivers, this level of illegal activity could have a serious impact on the sustainability of future stocks in the River Wear. That’s why we take reports of suspected poaching seriously and work closely with the police to take action where appropriate.
“We’re committed to tackling illegal fishing of all kinds whether online or off and as this case clearly demonstrates, we will take action, especially where potentially damaging methods are used.”
PC Peter Baker, Wildlife Officer at Northumbria Police, said: “We are really pleased to have been able to deliver effective justice and show the impact of illegal fishing and poaching. We are privileged to see a varied amount of marine wildlife around our area, and we should all play a part in protecting and supporting the environment. As a Force, we take all reports of this nature seriously and are committed to taking appropriate and robust action against the minority found to have been involved in such offences in the region’s waterways.”
When not illegally fishing, Connor Bell uses dogs to persecute wildlife with photos uploaded to his Facebook profile showing dogs bearing facial injuries consistent with being forced to fight foxes and/or badgers.
Bell is an associate of notorious psycho poacher Dewi Price.
Hutchinson is also a bloodsports enthusiast.
He runs a canine security business named N.E.F. Working Canines.
He has uploaded videos to YouTube showing a dog being trained to attack a human and even uses a young child, presumably his son, to demonstrate how vicious his dogs are.
CONVICTED (2022) | hare coursers Warren David Kelly, born 29 May 1986, of 6 Sycamore Drive, Chester CH4 9ND, and Andrew W Dutton, born 20 July 1964, of 1 Clover Place, Chester CH4 8EZ
Prolific poachers Warren Kelly (left) and Andrew Dutton
Kelly and Dutton were given five-year criminal behavior orders (CBO) after being convicted of four offences under the Game Act and two offences under the Hunting act, for Hare Coursing in Ormskirk.
The pair were known to poach all over Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Humberside, Merseyside, North Wales, Cheshire, West Mercia, Shropshire and Bedfordshire.
Lancashire Police said the order bans them from being anywhere in England and Wales in possession or control of a dog other than in their home address and from being with any person anywhere in England and Wales with a dog,
LancsLive reports that the CBO also bans them out of “huge portions” of Lancashire and Merseyside “from acting in a manner that is likely to cause harassment, alarm and distress”.
In addition, they were ordered to pay almost £1,000 in fines and costs and had their poaching equipment forfeited from them.
South Rural Police Taskforce officer PC Paddy Stewart said: “Hare coursing and poaching can be extremely distressing for our community, who feel unable to challenge the offenders. This is not ‘one for the pot’ poaching, these offenders travel around the country committing cruel acts towards our wildlife and whilst doing so wreak havoc on our rural communities. Farmers regularly tell me of threats and intimidation when they challenge trespassers on their land who are involved in poaching.
“It is a misconception for people to think this is a minor crime in the countryside. Like many other wildlife crimes, those involved in hare coursing are often hardened criminals, using threats, intimidation and in some cases violence, against anyone who questions or challenges their actions. They trespass on land, damaging crops and property.
“Many people won’t know that the brown Hare is listed as a Conservation Priority in the UK’s Biodiversity Action Plan, meaning we should be doing all we can to protect this vulnerable species.”
The areas covered in the ban include: Tarleton, Hesketh Banks, Banks, Sollom, Rufford, Merebrow, Burscough, Ormskirk, Downholland, Halsall, Altcar, Scarisbrick, Aughton, Southport, Bickerstaffe, Simmonswood, Ainsdale, Hillside, Birkdale, Churchtown, Kew, Croston, Dalton, Newburgh, Lathom, Mawdsley, Wrightington, Hilldale, Parbold, Appley Bridge, Roby Mill, Ince, Blundell, Maghull, Kirkby, Lydiate and Melling.
Sergeant Darren Car added: “The measures farmers have to put in place to deter these offenders cost considerable amounts of money which in turn is passed onto food consumers.
These criminal behaviour orders will offer safety for the community and protection to vulnerable species. I am extremely proud of my team’s hard work in securing these convictions and orders for our community. Due to the feeling of isolation in rural areas and previous experience of threats, it takes great courage for farmers to step forward and we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the fight against wildlife crimes and animal cruelty.”
Anyone who sees the two men in the West Lancashire area can report their breach through 101 or lancashire.police.uk/reportonline.
CONVICTED (2022) | Sydney Samuels, born c. 1988, of 59 Oxford Gardens, Greenfield, Maidstone ME15 8FJ – caught breaching a Community Protection Notice (CPN) imposed for hare coursing.
Officers first warned Samuels, a traveller, on 27 August 2021 following seven reports of suspected poaching taking place at Neats Court in Queenborough, Isle of Sheppey.
On 27 November he was issued with a CPN after being stopped while in a vehicle in Eastwood Road. The car was searched under The Poaching Prevention Act 1862 and inside officers found dogs and deceased rabbits.
The CPN contained several conditions, including not being allowed to be on private land without the owner’s written permission, not being allowed to have dogs off-lead and not being allowed to be in possession of a catapult or air weapon.
On 26 January 2022 officers were told of two men being seen with dogs on private land near Old Ferry Road, Iwade. Officers attended and searched the area and found a flatbed truck where a deceased rabbit was found.
They stopped two men, one of whom was Sydney Samuels, and he was arrested for again breaching the CPN.
Following Samuels’ latest court appearance, he was also issued with a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order, which contained conditions to prohibit poaching. If this is breached this can result in a custodial sentence.
Sentencing: £400 fine.
Sydney Samuels was the first person to be taken to court for breaching his CPN which was served to him as part of Op Galileo, the national initiative, which primarily aims to combat hare coursing.
In order to support the national initiative, Kent Police and six other forces – Bedfordshire, Cambridge, Herefordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex – started to work collaboratively in August 2021.
The agreement, which has been completed with the support of the Crown Prosecution Service, has allowed the seven forces to work as one when exercising certain powers. This includes sharing interactions and movements, the use of automatic number plate recognition and seizing dogs.
Sydney Samuels, who has links to travellers sites in Maidstone and Sittingbourne, is believed to be the brother of another bloodsports maniac, Jack Samuels who lives at the same address in Oxford Gardens with girlfriend Liane Clark and their children. While there is no evidence that Jack Samuels has ever been prosecuted for wildlife crime, the images and videos he uploads to his Facebook profile and various ‘bushing’ groups he admins speak for themselves.
Samuels advises anyone whose dog “can’t kill a hare” to “dump it”. What a charmer.
CONVICTED (2022) | Matthew Vann, born 13 April 1995, of 6 The Boulevard, Doncaster DN3 2QH, Lewis Mathew Hill, born 20 June 2000, of Bentley Road, Doncaster DN5, and Ellie May Scorer, born 16 May 2000, of Tennyson Road, Bentley, Doncaster DN5 0EG – convicted for hunting wild mammals with dogs.
L-R Lewis Hill, Ellie Scorer, Matty Vann. All images: Facebook
All three were found guilty of hunting wild mammals with dogs and killing deer at night, while Vann was also found guilty of criminal damage and off-road driving.
The case related to an incident on 21 December 2020, when officers received reports of a car driving through a farmer’s field and the sound of an animal being attacked by dogs.
Images: South Yorkshire Police
Police arrived on the scene and intercepted a Subaru Forester. Vann, Scorer and Hill were found in the vehicle, with four lurcher-type dogs and a number of high-powered lamps.
On examination of the field, it was discovered that the vehicle had caused extensive damage to the crops – and the body of a dead deer was discovered.
Special Chief Inspector O’Neill, leading the investigation, said: “Night-time poaching is not a harmless, victimless crime and it is something we will take seriously.
“Having a 4×4 vehicle tearing through a field is frightening for nearby residents who have no idea what the occupants’ intentions are. In this instance, a deer suffered a cruel and painful death having been mauled by large dogs and damage was caused to the farmer’s crop by the soil being compacted by the tyres and essentially making it unsuitable for crop to grow.
“I am pleased to see that the judge has recognised the impact wildlife crime has on our area. I hope this will deter people from coming into our area and that they are aware we will use all tools available to us to secure a conviction.
“I would like to thank the Country Watch members around Swinefleet and the Isle of Axholme for being vigilant and often giving their time up to report suspicious activity to us. This is an excellent example of teamwork.”
Sentencing | Vann, Scorer and Hill were each sentenced to an eight-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months, a rehabilitation activity requirement, forfeiture of lamps, £600 costs and £120 compensation.
