Activists wasting police time and taxpayers' money

The Countryside Alliance has condemned an ongoing campaign by animal rights extremists in Cheshire against Cheshire police and local hunts. Activists are demonstrating today (Sunday, 3rd February) outside Cheshire Police Headquarters at Winsford and have mounted an escalating campaign of abuse and false allegations.

An example of the abuse that activists give the police can be displayed in a video here (taken in Darnall on Tuesday 8^th January 2019).

Countryside Alliance Chief Executive, Tim Bonner, said: "It is disgraceful that these activists are willing to waste so much police time and taxpayers' money on their obsessive campaigns that really should be spent tackling real crime. Their behaviour is consistently abusive and anti-social. It is of great credit to Cheshire police officers that they deal so calmly with such unpleasant behaviour on a regular basis. The reality, however, is that this should not be happening in the first place. Animal rights extremists are putting the public at risk through their behaviour and the pursuit of their vindictive agenda."

"Hunts in Cheshire changed the way they operated after the Hunting Act was enforced in February 2005. They now hunt artificially-laid trails and carry out pest control within the confines of the law. There has not been a single conviction under the Act relating to a hunt in Cheshire in the 14 years since the law changed. Anti-hunt campaigners remain angry that the infrastructure of hunts still exist, but that is no excuse for their behaviour."

"In addition to the abuse police officers receive directly, activists also run targeted online campaigns using lies and edited video to present a completely false and partial presentation of incidents involving hunts. Cheshire police has acknowledged these tactics and last month issued a statement saying:

"We recognise that much discussion, comment and posting of digital material around hunting takes place on social media. Many comments are based on inaccurate information that do not reflect a balanced view of the matters discussed. Frequently, video footage does not reflect the full scenario."

"Everyone has the right to protest and express their views. There is however, no excuse for abusing police officers and concocting vindictive allegations which waste police time and resources"