On Christmas Eve, 17 farms in Cheshire, Great Britain were attacked and the victims suspect anti-hunting activists are responsible.
A similar set of attacks occurred in November when 12 farms in the area were vandalized, with fences being cut and hunt jumps destroyed. A number of farms were vandalized in both the November and December attacks.
Richard de Prez, of the Cheshire Forest Hunt, told the Chester Chronicle,
There appears to have been a direct correlation between the farms that were attacked and our program of hunt meets over the Christmas and New Year period. As with the attacks in November, there was damage caused to hunt jumps, fencing to protect livestock was ripped out and cut and gates were lifted from their hinges and discarded.
In these later incidents, pipes bringing water to water troughs for cattle and sheep were severed and livestock strayed into fields growing winter cereals.
But Jeremy Wilson of the North West Hunt Saboteurs Association told the Cheshire Chronicle that if hunt saboteurs had carried out the damage, they would have taken vocal credit for it,
We would quite happily admit it. I have no problem with disruption being caused either to the day’s hunting or farms that support hunting, as long as it is not endangering animal or human life and it is not significant criminal damage.
Sources:
Hunt saboteurs blamed for spate of attacks on farms. David Holmes, Chester Chronicle, January 9, 2004.
Anti-Blood Sports Campaigners On Wrecking Spree. Daily Post (Liverpool), January 8, 2004.