Police have been accused of wasting their time targeting hare coursing when they should be attending burglaries instead.

Wantage Pcs Darren James and Marc Lester were singled out by the Self Help for Farmers Group in an attack against police spending too much time on "animal crime".

The SHG criticised Operation Migrate, claiming the officers should not be patrolling the countryside looking for hare coursing but concentrate on investigating assaults and burglaries instead.

The group also claimed policing priorities were being set by the RSPCA — an allegation refuted by Thames Valley Police.

Pc James said Operation Migrate involved more than just tackling hare coursers.

He added: "My role is not solely focused on hare coursing. As a neighbourhood specialist officer, it's my job to tackle the crimes and problems highlighted by our communities.

"In this way, we get many complaints by local landowners about hare coursers operating illegally on their land and causing damage to their properties and it's our duty to deal with this illegal activity.

"Also, Operation Migrate is not primarily for hare coursing but is about us tackling all kinds of rural crime in the Wantage area, such as metal theft, criminal damage and farm burglaries.

"While we work closely with them, it's completely incorrect to suggest that our policing priorities are dictated by the RSPCA."

The SHG was formed by a group of farmers to campaign against what they see as RSPCA campaigns affecting people who live in the countryside.

They criticised Pcs James and Lester, claiming they were two examples of officers who were concentrating on the wrong types of crime, after they featured in an Oxford Mail report on the hare coursing operation two weeks ago.

Spokesman Anne Kasica said: "We now have far too many demands on the time and resources of the police.

"One of their biggest problems is that highly funded animal rights campaign groups, such as the RSPCA, put intense pressure on the police to concentrate on more minor offences, instead of dealing with burglaries and assaults.

"We need to know how police priorities are decided. Surely the main priority must be community safety, not assisting the RSPCA."

Pc James said policing priorities were set during Neighbourhood Action Group meetings made up of residents, councillors and other members of the public.