Name: Doug Maw
Affiliations: West Sussex Hunt Sabs
Location: Bognor Regis (formerly Keswick)
Trespass & Harassment
Doug Maw, a “veteran hunt saboteur” and former slaughterhouse worker, has apparently relished being the centre of attention in an ongoing legal drama.
Over the past few years, Maw has allegedly broken into several private estates in Sussex and stolen and/or destroyed Humane Cable Restraints, often while harassing trail hunts on the same land. These restraints are used to control the populations of predators like foxes and stoats and thus preserve rare bird and mammal species.
Sussex police launched an investigation into Maw’s behaviour in July 2023, saying that they were looking into reports of criminal damage and theft to the tune of £12,000.
Maw, who posted numerous videos of himself trespassing and interfering with private property, was subsequently arrested and charged with six counts of criminal damage and three counts of theft.
Despite these videos, Maw denied the charges on the grounds that they were based on other clips which he had posted on social media, where in some he claims he was “clearly” not in the videos.
However, Maw is known to have trespassed on private property, as his careless social media accounts frequently attest. Despite legal troubles, one recent video on Maw’s Facebook shows him trespassing, harassing ground staff, and refusing to leave private property upon polite request. Meanwhile in a video posted to Twitter, Maw abuses hunt supporters, calling them a "flotilla of scum".
Prosecution in the Sussex case decided not to proceed so the judge at Lewes Crown Court was left with no choice but to find Maw not guilty. However, he still faces the possibility of a non-conviction restraining order.
Maw may have gotten lucky this time but vegan activist or not, no one is above the law. However, Mr Maw clearly believes he is above all, hubristically promoting a social media tag by the name of “Vegangelical” on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Someone who considers himself a ‘vegan angel’ would be best off seeking professional help, not running around stealing and committing criminal damage!
But for all his alleged criminal activity, Maw still received the blessing of the vegan activist god, Chris Packham, who posted his support for the saboteur on Twitter.
When police arrested Maw, they found on him mobile phones, a laptop, a Garmin smartwatch, leads for a power bank, and, most controversially, according to Protect The Wild, a bank card belonging to a former girlfriend. No explanation has been offered as to why Maw had this on his person.
Maw has since made outrageous claims against Sussex police, blogging updates all over his Twitter, that the police are refusing to return his belongings because they’ve stolen or fraudulently used them. These baseless accusations against public servants are further evidence of Maw’s contrarian and antagonistic world-view.
Putting out the Begging Bowl
Following his totally unevidenced accusations against Sussex Police, Maw has set up a GoFundMe page, where he claims: “police seized several thousand pounds worth of my belongings & put me through a year of this [investigation].” He further accuses the police of being “disproportionate in their actions & obstructive”.
Maw intends to use the money from the GoFundMe to sue Sussex police for compensation. So not only is he wasting taxpayer money and valuable police time, he’s also duping charitable members of the public into funding his misguided crusade against the boys in blue.
His appeal ends: “If you are able to help please contribute to aid my search for justice.” At time of writing, he has reached £360 of his £2,000 target.
However, this is not the first time Maw has profited off public goodwill...
The Morrisons Debacle
Always keen for attention, Maw previously tried to capture the limelight while working as a cashier at a Bognor Regis branch of Morrisons.
He was fired in November 2021 for a campaign against the supermarket that alleged they were taking part in “chicken abuse”. According to Yorkshire Live, Maw first took part in the campaign by signing a petition and sharing a link in Morrisons’ internal Facebook group.
Maw subsequently formed Morrisons’ first vegan union (apparently consisting of three members) and led a dozen protests against his employer.
The disgruntled Maw was then fired on the following grounds:
His speaking with the press broke confidentiality with Morrisons, as he did not obtain written permission from the company to do this.
The protest he organised was intentionally harmful to the interests of the company and misrepresented the Morrisons brand.
He breached the Respect in the Workplace Policy and social media Policy at Morrisons.
Despite The Humane League’s warped and laboured rant about the unfairness of this situation, in the real-world people do get fired if they consistently don’t turn up to work and instead publicly slag off their employer in front of their shop.
But it turned out that unemployment was a blessing for Maw as it allowed him to focus on his true passion: collecting other people’s money.
A Linktree page positioned prominently on Maw’s social accounts provides easy routes to Maw’s YouTube page, a non-existent business, and a shameless Patreon account again under the name ‘Vegangelical’, which allows followers to support Maw’s “vegan and animal rights activism content”.
Donation options range from £5 to £100 per month, and give supporters exclusive updates on Maw’s life and escapades as he continues to avoid gainful employment.
In a YouTube video advertising himself on Patreon, Maw explains that, “being an activist across the South Coast” and a former butcher, he has a “unique insight into non-traditional demographics”.
We at Behind The Masks aren't quite sure how 'unique' this perspective is. Kevin might be from South Wales and support Tottenham, but sadly that’s not a reason for Sky Sports to hire him as a football pundit.
Maw Money Maw Problems
It’s perhaps ironic that Maw dedicates so much of his time to collecting other people’s hard-earned cash when he first rose to fame for criticising the Bank of England’s new fivers.
In 2016, the Bank unveiled a new £5 note made with hard-wearing polymers that reduce the frequency with which notes need to be replaced compared to the old fivers, reducing waste and emissions in the process. Outraged at this eminently sensible decision Maw started a petition against the use of animal fats in the production of the new readies.
Maw, who was then working in a hotel, said he was “disgusted” by the new notes and observed “there has got to be other ways of making money”. Indeed, like collecting donations on the internet…
Maw said he would refuse to use the new notes (which nowadays include £10 and £20 bills as well) and tried, unsuccessfully, to get parliament to debate the issue. Given his moral objections, we urge members of the public not to give Maw any money, lest you mortally offend him.
Got more information about Doug Maw? Send a tip to info@behindthemasks.co.uk or WhatsApp 07985 517 452.