Poaching incidents increasing across Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire Constabulary are urging members of the public to report suspicious activity.
Most incidents are happening in the Forest of Dean.
Forestry England, which manages some of the land there, have reported an increase since the clocks went back in October.
Gloucestershire Constabulary have a dedicated team of rural and wildlife crime officers working across the county.
The force are keen to work with local communities to tackle the issue.
They are encouraging the public to call 999 if they suspect they are witnessing an illegal act, or to call 101 for non emergencies.
Cath McDay, Rural Police Officer, said it's distressing for the landowners who are having to manage the damage caused by poachers.
She said: "It affects their whole livelihood, it just causes an untold amount of stress and worry and often financial implications to fix what damage has been caused.
"Quite often these people are aggressive so if they're confronted by the landowner they can be quite threatening and abusive.
"It's difficult to understand the mentality of it because, I often say, what we see is barbaric."