Three animal rights extremists have been jailed for attacking a family in a car in South London. Heather Nicholson and Natasha Avery, both 38, were both sentenced to 16 months imprisonment, while Daniel Wadham, 19, was sentenced to 12 months in a young offenders’ institute.


The family, who hunt with a Dorset hunt, had a Countryside Alliance car sticker in the rear window of their car. Three people got out of the car behind, hurling anti-hunting abuse, spitting at the family, trying to steal the driver’s handbag and trying to drag the driver’s son out of the car by his leg.

Natasha Avery is the wife of Greg Avery, who runs Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, while Heather Nicholson is his ex-wife. The pair have a string of convictions relating to animal rights extremism.

Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart commented: “This was a particularly disgraceful attack on innocent people, and it is only right that these extremists have been jailed for terrifying a family going about their business.

“The Government must accept that the attacks by animal rights extremists on the rural community are exactly the same as attacks on businesses and institutions, and should be treated just as seriously. The hunting community has suffered decades of threatening behaviour and abuse at the hands of such people, whose actions have nothing to do with loving animals, but everything to do with hating people.”