Sabotage!

If confronted by protesters on a shoot day, what should you do? Philip Reynolds explains

- Philip Reynolds

The shooting season is now in full swing and no doubt many of you will already have enjoyed a day in the field. For the majority, these will be happy days that provide fond memories. However, the spectre of shooting’s opponents disrupting your day is ever-present. The risk might be minimal but, nevertheless, all shoots and Guns should be well-versed in what to do should it happen.

In this digital age, many opponents of shooting vent their spleen via smartphone or keyboard. However, for the more committed anti the prize of disrupting a shoot and ‘a bunch of toffs killing for fun’ is worth the effort of venturing outside.

BASC, the Countryside Alliance and the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) have all produced guidelines on what to do if confronted with antis, and how to prepare. First and foremost, it is important to remember that what you are doing is a legal activity. No matter how its opponents try to portray it or take the moral high ground, it is not you who is breaking the law. Trespass is a civil offence and, as such, it is up to the landowner on whose land there has been an incursion to decide on what action to take. However, on private land trespass becomes a criminal offence of aggravated trespass the moment somebody tries to prevent another person pursuing a lawful activity. As the aim of most antis is to disrupt a shoot or cause it to be abandoned, they are likely to be committing a criminal offence in England and Wales under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. (We will address the law in Scotland and Northern Ireland in another issue.)