A Bradford City player on loan from Huddersfield Town has been punished after being convicted in court for poaching offences.
20 year old Kian Harratt was sentenced at Beverley Magistrates’ Court last week under the Game Act. Humberside Police said the 20-year-old was caught trespassing on private land near Wressle, Howden, during the daytime on the 4th of April this year.
Harratt, who was on loan to Port Vale at the time, was pulled over by rural officers after reports of hare coursing. Also travelling in the car were Billy Haigh, 20, and 18-year-old Codie Colin Smith, both from Barnsley.
Harratt was handed a fine at £830, plus £233 costs, after the Bench found him guilty of daytime poaching under Section 30 of the Game Act 1831. The trio were originally charged, but found not guilty of hunting with dogs, their solicitor said on Tuesday.
Billy Haigh, 20, of Main Street, South Hiendley, Barnsley, was fined £519 and ordered to pay £150 in costs and a victim surcharge of £52.
Codie Colin Smith, 18, of Frickley Bridge Lane, Brierley, Barnsley, was fined £173 and ordered to pay £150 in costs and a victim surcharge of £34.
Hare coursing, a bloodsport involving dogs chasing down hares, is outlawed in England and Wales. Hull Live state there was no evidence to suggest any animals were injured on the day in question.
Rural Task Force Sergeant Kevin Jones said: “This conviction shows that the Rural Task Force will deal strongly with those offenders that visit our Force area to commit hare coursing offences.
“Along with the criminal offences, the offenders are dealt with via the local authority’s antisocial behaviour team.
“I would like to thank the members of the public and landowners who witnessed this incident and who reported it and support our investigation.
“We will not tolerate the barbaric act of hare coursing, not only causing unimaginable suffering to our wildlife but also causing issues for local landowners who are often the subject of antisocial behaviour and damage to their land and property.”
📜 CLUB STATEMENT | We are aware of recent reports concerning on-loan striker Kian Harratt, and are working alongside parent club @htafc in investigating the matter further.
➡️ | Read: https://t.co/uEYKZxrQ2x#BCAFC pic.twitter.com/uXcKtG4YhP
— Bradford City AFC (@officialbantams) November 3, 2022
BRADFORD STATEMENT:
Bradford City AFC is aware of recent reports concerning on-loan striker Kian Harratt.
The 20-year-old’s parent club, Huddersfield Town, is currently investigating the matter further, and working to establish the full facts.
Harratt will not be involved for City for this weekend’s Emirates FA Cup visit of Harrogate Town.
– STATEMENT ENDS –
Twitter users gave their reaction with the Bradford player on loan from Huddersfield punished after being convicted in court…
@crazypeas1: Send him home.
@TomStirk1992: Just terminate his loan
@nigehll: Good. I’ll buy tickets now then.
@tehflu: A fantastic footballer with a good opportunity at his feet to impress and push his career further. He has been seen (social media) gloating and taking pleasure in animals he owns ripping other animals apart for fun and sport. Not the kind of role model we would want at the club.
@leepasq12: send him back
@SHD1903: How did we not know about this before he signed? 🤣
@Davidbcfc666: Killing terrified animals for sport/fun.. he’s not worthy of the shirt, get rid.
@_McCluskeyR: Whatever Kian does as a hobby is his own business whether I agree with it or not, unfortunately this is now a distraction for the club with the images on social media so he has to be sent back for the sake of the group. Hopefully he goes on to find success elsewhere in the future
@LukeGBantam: Just send him back, he’s a trouble maker. Don’t need his type at our club
@aj_bcafc: terminate his loan, best for all involved
@Addybak: Would be interesting to understand how much the Club knew about this before he signed.
@smilerhopper: Hare today gone tomorrow
@SPHscout: Done virtually nothing for us so far. Get him gone and replace him with someone with a lot more talent and less 🍮🔑
@cheggerslad: He’s a bit of a dick this lad isn’t he?
@jamieson2003: Err wtf 🤷♂️🤷♂️
@terriers55: The lad obviously needs some educating
@CasualBantam: Hope he never appears in a City shirt again. Disgraceful behaviour.
@BarmyBantam24: Bloody hell 😔🫣🫣🫣
@NknPu: Sad. Send him back to the dogs
@kegsy131: Bin him off
@wilsation_al: Get rid. What a horrible man.
@_paul1978: Awful thing to do. See ya Kian 👋🏼
@nigehll: Its illegal regardless of fans opinion. If he doesn’t get sent back I’ll have to consider whether I want to attend tbh. I feel so strongly about this. Im sure I’m not the only one who’ll feel this way. @officialbantams
@PennCaroline: Yuk, awful, get rid. Who does that?! What century is he from.
@Yorkshirebell: If he appears on the pitch in a City shirt again, I leave the stadium. Far from learning his lesson, his Facebook posts show he was part of an organised group taking part in this vile and illegal activity 2 weeks ago. Wearing City gear too.
@CraigStrife: Don’t want anyone like this associated with my club. Animal cruelty, eh? Send the little shit packing. Little scumbag.
@misselisehartt: Baffles me why footballers given their status still go on to do illegal shit, what’s wrong with em.
@JayPVFC: Shitting hell Kian #PVFC
@bcafc_amylou: Don’t post it all over Facebook…..What an idiot 🤣
@PargeyBCAFC: Kian Is A Talented lad no doubt. But he needs to seriously wake up and fast. He’s not a teenager now, he needs to surround himself with the right people and grow up and start acting like a professional. I hope we can get him on the right tracks, but it’s not good enough #BCAFC
@KaneBethell: Get rid of him now, way more trouble than he’s worth. Final nail in the coffin for his Bradford career I’d say, good riddance #Bcafc
@_McCluskeyR: Fucking send him back now want nothing to do with from this point on

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