Buried
Podcast

Buried

BBC Radio 4

34 episodes

Why is someone leaving dozens of dead animals as a mafia-style warning in the British countryside? Buried is the multi award-winning investigative series digging into some of the most disturbing environmental stories in history. In this thrilling new investigation, Buried: Dead Rabbit, reporters Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor team up with the wildlife presenter Chris Packham to investigate. First, villagers find twenty mangled animals outside a primary school, then fifty by a farm shop, blood smeared over the doors. Are they a Godfather-like threat? A taunt? A strange Satanic sacrifice? Or - just like a classic horror movie - the first flash of a monster, lurking in the shadows? The answer leads the team to uncover a terrifying criminal underworld operating in the heart of the countryside. Masked men in 4x4s, violent rage, and tens of thousands of pounds at stake. Chris Packham tells us his own dead-animal threats escalated into a car bomb outside his house. Farmers and villagers say they feel abandoned, and the problem is darker - and far more widespread - than anyone thought. Dead Rabbit begins like a folk horror movie but turns into a gripping, fast-paced thriller about the takeover of illegal hare coursing in the countryside. This is the third series of Buried, bringing bingeable, fast-paced mysteries exposing urgent environmental true stories you've almost certainly never heard of. Husband-and-wife investigative duo Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor dive into secret worlds of organised crime unfolding in our waste (Series 1) or trails of toxic chemicals that go right to our plates (Series 2, Buried: The Last Witness). Each series is a separate story bringing to light never-before-heard recordings and boxes of explosive legal documents, inviting the audience to unpick crimes or scandals with them.

What this show covers

wildlife crimehare coursingrural crimeinvestigative journalisminvestigative podcastenvironmental storiestrue crimeinvestigationcourt caseintimidationseries finaleenvironmental crimerural Britain

What listeners will find here

A dark-web lead points to the money behind hare coursing
This preview is based on the episode’s published notes, not the audio itself. Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor reportedly uncover a video from the night of the cup final that suggests hare coursing is tied to serious money, with input from Chris Packham and a police chief.
Violence, fear, and a new lead in the countryside crime trail
This preview, based only on the published show notes, points to an episode focused on the violence surrounding hare coursing and the fear felt by rural communities. It also teases a fresh tip for reporters Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor tied to one of the dead animal incidents.
A deeper look at the criminal network behind hare coursing
This preview, based only on the published show notes, suggests episode 7 widens the investigation beyond isolated incidents into a larger rural criminal underworld. Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor appear to focus on who may be orchestrating it all—and whether they can catch those involved in the act.
Courtroom tension rises as new CCTV footage shapes the Dead Rabbit trial
This preview, based only on the show notes, points to a pivotal courtroom chapter in Dead Rabbit. Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor meet the man accused of leaving dead animals outside a village shop, while newly released CCTV reportedly shows how bold and fast the act was.
A final verdict, rising threats, and a hidden menace in the countryside
This preview is based on the episode notes, not the audio itself. The finale appears to follow the wait for a verdict before Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor ask a bigger question: whether violence is gaining ground amid widespread dead-animal threats.

Episodes

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