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Activists arrested for robbery of a chicken from sun valley have case dropped

Western Animal Rights Network | 23.05.2008 21:47 | Animal Liberation

Two activists that where arrested in connection with the theft of a live chicken from the Sun Valley Foods slaughterhouse in Hereford were today told the police would be taking no further action against them.

Two activists that where arrested in connection with the theft of a live chicken from the Sun Valley Foods slaughterhouse in Hereford were today told the police would be taking no further action against them.


One of the activists was arrested whilst leaving the site whilst the other, who was acussed of actually removing the chicken, voluntarily attended the police station at a mutual date.

The Sun Valley site in Hereford is one of the largest poultry abattoirs in the UK and the cost of the chicken to them is under 50p however this did not stop the company from kicking up a fuss but due to poor CCTV evidence and failed identification by witnesses, West Mercia Constabulary have decided there is insufficient effidence to prosecute. Sun Valley are responsible for supplying chicken to McDonalds and many other major supermarket chains; including the Co-Op Group who pride themselves ona high ethical and animal welfare policies.


See also - www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/389024.html

Western Animal Rights Network
- e-mail: info@animalliberation.co.uk
- Homepage: http://www.animalliberaton.co.uk

Comments

Hide the following 13 comments

Another life saved with no crime paid!

23.05.2008 22:03

Great to hear...up the resistance!

veg.a.


How did you cook the chicken?

23.05.2008 22:51

n/t

anonymous


Good news

24.05.2008 09:03

Really glad the case got dropped and the chicken was saved.

In solidarity! X

Miss X


RE: how did you cook the chicken?

24.05.2008 10:41

the secret to perfect chicken is a large pinch of humor, something your comment was extremly lacking in.

Western Animal Rights Network


Waste of lives

24.05.2008 15:58

I heard a terrible statistic about food waste on the radio. In the UK, 5,000 chickens are thrown away uneaten EVERY DAY! People are crap.

veganbuddy


Something smells funny...

25.05.2008 12:13

Something very similar to this happened to us in Scotland in the early-80's. One activist kept getting arrested and then not charged even when he was caught red-handed. Turned out that the "activist" was in fact a police nark. The writting was on the wall but we failed to spot it. This nark enabled Strathclyde police to break up the group. Why would CCTV be needed when one of the activists was caught on site? Aggravated Tresspass at the very least.

Wasn't the arrest at Sun Valley used by the prosecution in the Sequani trial?

Something just seems wrong to me. I can sense it in my bones, although at my age that could just be my arthritus playing up ;)

Dutch Tony


RE: Something smells funny...

25.05.2008 20:45

The activist caught on site wasn't the one who had taken the chicken. It says right there. If it hadn't been their intention to take the chicken in the first place, say if it had happened spur-of-the-moment then the cops probably just didn't want the hassle of trying to get something on them.

If the CCTV was that bad then they might not have managed to even show that a chicken was taken. So what would the police be able to do - it's just the word of the staff...staff who couldn't identify someone positively. So for all they know it was just a couple of people trespassing, not even aggravated trespass if they hadn't been asked to leave and if it couldn't be proved that anything was taken or damaged.

However, there appears to have been a rise recently of the number of people police have been asking to give them info - Lynn Sawyer I heard was even asked! I think it shows that they're desparate to get information and are too incompetent to get it themselves, but, having been asked myself and finding out the things they offer you to try and sweeten you up, make it seem beneficial, I reckon there may be some people out there (quite a few if what they told me was true, but then it rarely is) who would agree to help them out...

Stay on your toes my friends, well done to the activists mentioned in the article.

Cat


Staying on toes..

26.05.2008 10:21

Cat is absolutely right with this reminder. People think they're being careful, then chat carelessly to friends in front of others they assume must be like-minded, post action photos with faces shown, leave people's contact details lying around, talk with mobiles in the same room, etc etc (not just animal rights). It's better to be a bit paranoid than to see someone locked up due to your own carelessness. The cop teams employed soley in intelligence gathering have pretty sophisticated methods and I reckon it's better to assume you ARE being checked out.

cluck


police dropped the chages as it was a poultry offence

26.05.2008 15:48

because the ctv .chicken tika vidio was poultry evidence .the charges was dropped this was a foul blow to the police..who had an egg on thier face ,after the prottesters were seen scrambling over the fence and a yocal eye witness could not i.d them .so it turned out to be a feather in the cap for the prottesters .keep it pete ambler derby

peter ambler
mail e-mail: tigger1946@fsmail.net


Agreed Cat

26.05.2008 21:59

Agree with Cat about the police continuing to try to get protestors to become grasses. One thing I'd say is that it's not because the police are desperate it's because getting people to grass works! They got Barry Horne because of a grass who was respected in AR circles. This happened to my local group in scotland way bak in the 80's, so it's a tactic that does bear fruit for the police

I'd say that the people to look out for are those who get off or very light sentances or let off altogether whilst others get the book thrown at them. Also the main ones to be careful of are the ones that want to know what everyone else is up to in the area.

Be careful people

Dutch Tony


Don't be so para!

28.05.2008 14:25

Those who were arrested for this action were certainly not police grasses so don't hint at such rubbish without knowing the facts.

The reason it was dropped was because 3 of the 4 witnesses couldn't pick out the activist that was alledged to have been seen running away with the chicken; the other witness couldn't make it through illness or something.


Secondly, the CCTV was crap and also showed the insides of the chicken 'loading sheds' where there was alledged to have been abuse aplently - would the police want to land Sun Valley in the shit?

And last of all from a corporate point of view. Sun Valley had been exposed the day before this happened, for cruelty in their chicken breeding units where the animals are kept from birth until they are old enough for slaughter. Next day, activists go to their chicken abattoir and witness distgusting and vomit-enduicing conditions, scared animals wallowing in filth with upto 10 odd
crates crammed full of live chickens above them (more than a battery cage, but the same size). One chicken is spontaniously liberated by one campaigner - when examined it has hock burns, is extremely unhealthy and very overweight for its young age. That evening (and throughout that week), the chicken meat industry is slammed for its factory farming by two highly-respected chefs and conditions exposed on national tv - resulting in a mass drop in sales costing the industry millions. That same week, local press cover that an animal is taken from Sun Valley and the police want to talk to another person who was last seen 'running with a live chicken under their arm'.

The last thing Sun Valley were going to want is a high profile case, for something that one of the main-men in Hereford CID himself compared to "petty shoplifting", which would result in raising the issues of animal welfare again and turning people away from eating chicken - especially when their clients include McDonalds, Co-Op and others who pride themselves on a high-ethical status in farm animal welfare. This would have cost them more than the apx. 50p that would have be gained through slaughter and sale of the liberated chicken.


Questions answered?
Long live Rocky!




Dutch Tony Blair?


Questions NOT Answered

28.05.2008 20:26

No my concerns haven't been answered.

Was the arrest brought up in the Sequani case or not? Wasn't it nicely timed (for the prosecution) so that it happened right at the beginning of the case?

Why are any witnesses needed to identify the person who was arrested on site and who admitted aiding the escape of the chicken? Given West Mercia police campaign against animal rights people (eg Sequani case) I'm very surprised they and the CPS let this one slip away.

One minute you claim the CCTV was so bad it couldn't identify anyone the next you claim that it was so good that it would show horrible conditions for chickens (inside cages no less) in indoor lighting. Which is it? Is the CCTV good or bad, you can't have it both ways.

You are right I am paranoid because I've seen what police grasses can do first hand. I said before that this happened to my local group in Scotland back in the 80's, of course I'm paranoid about this.

Tony (Not Blair ;) )

Dutch Tony


the common sense thing is to go it alone

29.05.2008 09:50

tell no one your intentions ..you can still go along and do as much damage alone .never mention your target .never use yoyr mobile or any other home phone . if you have comrades work something out diferent each time .if you need media cover .have a reiable camera man .tell them only once your at target ..ive been the long and short way around ..no one knew me till i put a caravan on derby city bus station roof .where prottesters .camping in winter ..the caravan was there for 4 month .it made national headlines for weeks .unfortuaitly the press were passing by as it happened .they tracked me down .unfortunaitly as balaclavas were worn no evidence .also derby police stated it wes not causing an obstruction it was strapped down safe .there for i could not be prossecuted ..for all the ctv in derby city centre not one camera saw it .i could have had a rocket launcher ..one of many worthwhile escapades .by the way if your doing anything .drive into culde sacs use jittys double back .place your car elsewhere .go alone .im surrounded by ctv cameras .best evidence to my where abouts .good luck lads .check golf courses 4 cruelty .especaily erewash .and more the put paracetamol tabs in apples and put them dowm the babger sets .they suffer 4 days till they die .bastards .im joining an off road club .not a golf club there less cruel and you see the wildlife .good luck pete

peter ambler
mail e-mail: tigger1946@fsmail.net