Many in the sab community describe themselves as animal rights activists and draw a large degree of moral justification from the belief that their actions are motivated by compassion and respect for animals. The issue with this comes when so-called ‘direct action’ is misinformed and becomes dangerous. In the sab and animal rights communities, one common tactic in this vein is the theft or ’liberation’ of animals from farms or hunts. These crimes are carried out by individuals driven by emotion rather than real knowledge and sound logic.
This tactic has three main fallouts: the welfare of animals is compromised; the livelihood of farmers and hunts is damaged; and the threat of disease spreading is multiplied. If saboteurs really cared about improving the lives of animals and attracting rational Britons to their cause, they would do well to drop such passionate stunts and rationally consider the consequences of their actions.
Chris Packham, an idol of many saboteurs, has outlined why the separation of animals from their pack can be damaging. In the 2022 documentary series Dogs In The Wild he labelled this ‘broken heart syndrome’ and explained how it can lead to the animal dying from ‘cardiomyopathy’.
“The broken heart syndrome was also very interesting. When you think about it, for a very closely bonded pack-living animal, it is perhaps not surprising, but the depth of that degree of consciousness, is something we think only humans know about,” Packham explained.
On New Years Eve 2022, hunt saboteur Tessa Shipley stole a hound called Goldfinch from its pack at the Middleton Hunt in North Yorkshire. The law has a firm stance on this kind of crime, as stated by the Theft Act 1968:
“The penalty for theft of a pet is currently covered by s7 Theft Act 1968 (“Theft Act”), which provides that it is an offence punishable by a maximum of seven years’ imprisonment to dishonestly appropriate property, belonging to another, with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.”
That day, the Middleton Hunt had been conducting a lawful trail hunt near the Birdsall, Kirby Underdale Road. Upon closing the hunt, all bar one of the hounds were accounted for. The kennel staff and many others spent all that night and many subsequent days and nights looking for four-year-old Goldfinch without success. They sent out numerous messages with photos on social media, asking if anyone had any information on her whereabouts.
On 10 February 2023 information was passed to the hunt, stating that Goldfinch had been taken by a known hunt saboteur – Tessa Shipley. This information was corroborated by an independent hunt-anti, who had the welfare of the animal in mind. It was reported that Goldfinch had been taken by Shipley on 31 December 2022, whilst in good health, and passed to the West Yorkshire Sabs Group. On 18 February Hunt officers approached the West Yorkshire Saboteurs, showing them the evidence that Goldfinch had been stolen and asked that she be returned, promising that no legal action would be taken. The sabs refused to look at the evidence and denied knowledge of the incident.
On 22 February a master of the Middleton Hunt reported Goldfinch as stolen at Malton police station, showing police text messages from the sabs which include the line ‘they not getting her back’. It is the belief of the Middleton Hunt and the BHSA that Goldfinch has been taken by the Hunt Saboteurs Association, as represented by their West Yorkshire affiliate, with the intention of permanently depriving the Hunt of her companionship.
In all likelihood this has had a profoundly negative effect on Goldfinch, depriving her of her pack, her family, and her routine. This story is a fine example of why passion does not always lead to progress. Moralistic and well-intentioned Shipley may have been, she needed to put more thought and consideration into her ‘direct action’.
This brand of wrong-headed vigilantism is rife in the sab community. Not so long ago, Exeter University lecturer Jessica Groling admitted to stealing a cow from a farmer, under the illusion that she was ‘saving’ it. Not only was this objectively illegal, but also a thoughtlessly rash action that likely caused serious harm to the animal. Stealing from farmers is a widespread problem, with around 90,000 animals stolen in 2014 and rising since. In that year, the cost to farmers was £6.5 million – a figure that is hugely damaging in an industry with already thin profit margins. Another unseen cost is the rising insurance premiums when livestock are stolen, which can often put otherwise profitable farmers out of business. The British family farm could well die out in the next 30 years, with the number of farms with less than 100 hectares having halved in the last 60 years, and small holdings falling from 160,000 in 1950 to less than 30,000 in 2020.
Animal rights activists are a part of this problem, stealing without regard for the wider consequences of their actions. Beyond affecting the earnings of hard-working farmers, there is also an issue of disease control. Farmers are required to have a license to move animals around. The biosecurity of farm animals is a major threat to other wildlife, as they can spread diseases such as foot-and-mouth, very easily. PED [porcine epidemic diarrhea], is another threat, which can wipe out a whole herd. Hunt saboteurs bundle animals away and treat them as if they are humans, without serious thought or resource put to the control of disease.
In May, Norwich-based animal rights activist Gemma Barnes was charged with stealing a new-born lamb and causing it unnecessary suffering.
Barnes, 33, promotes a veritable word-salad of poorly conceived and fringe political views, including antinatalism (the belief that the human race should no longer procreate); ACAB (all cops are b*stards); and the anti-work movement. This indolent combination points to a mind desperately starved of rational thought or real-world experience.
Barnes has a habit of asking strangers on social media for money to afford her lifestyle, as well as funding her crusade to ‘liberate’ animals.
She paints an unfortunate caricature of the hunt saboteur. Her antiwork stance gives her an arrogant backing to ruin the lives of those who do work hard for a living, as demonstrated by her milk pouring protest at M&S. This was obviously of serious concern to the executives at M&S’ corporate HQ, and definitely not just the shopfloor cleaner on shift at the time.
Like all of us, Saboteurs and animal rights activists must continue to stand up for what they think is right, but vandalising farms and attacking those struggling to make a living is not the answer to hunt saboteurs’ issues. It is a composite failure of saboteur strategy and will not gain the support they so clearly crave.