Suspected poachers fleeing from police tried to blind the officers with torches in a bid to make their escape.
The BCH Road Policing Unit had stopped a car in Caddington over suspected ‘lamping’ – where lights are used to startle animals such as foxes and rabbits, before shooting them or using dogs to chase them.
Five dogs were found after police stopped the car on Dunstable Road between Harpenden and Caddington in the early hours of today (Wednesday).
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But the occupants failed to stop.
The police tweeted: “Pursuit ensued with occupants trying to blind us with lamping torches. Occupants decamped; 1 x detained, 1 x car and 5 x dogs recovered.”
The ‘lamping’ term comes from using a light which dazzles the prey and can reveal a creature when its eyes reflect back in the light.
It can be used as a form of pest control but lamping is only legal if you have the landowner’s permission, otherwise it can be classed as poaching.