Countryside Alliance publishes saboteur advice for shoots

The Countryside Alliance has published practical guidance for shoot managers on handling disruption by saboteurs, warning that targeted attacks on shoots at the start of the shooting season are a recurring problem. The shoot saboteurs advice sets out what to arrange before the season starts and what everyone on the day should do if a shoot is disrupted.

The guidance sheet, Saboteurs and Shooting – Practical Advice for Shoot Managers, was published on 28 July and is free to download from the Alliance’s website.

What does the guidance tell shoot managers to do?

It covers the arrangements a shoot should make in advance, and the actions that should be carried out by guns, beaters, pickers-up and anyone else working on the day in the event of disruption.

The Alliance says it is important “that the police are informed” when a criminal offence is being committed, “and that they then take the necessary action”. Any criminal allegation, it adds, will need to be corroborated with film footage to assist a prosecution.

When does trespass on a shoot become a crime?

Trespass on its own is a civil matter, which limits what the police can do. But aggravated trespass, where a person trespasses on land intending to intimidate, obstruct or disrupt a lawful activity taking place there or on adjoining land, is a criminal offence under section 68 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

That gives the police an important power, and it also lets a shoot bring its own case against identifiable individuals who have committed the offence, including for damages and costs.

Can police make saboteurs remove face coverings?

Yes. Under section 60AA of the same Act, police can require the removal of face coverings in designated areas, and failing to comply with a direction is a criminal offence.

Since 2017, a change the Alliance says it campaigned for, authorisation for those powers no longer has to be given in advance and in writing: it can be given orally to constables on the ground faced with masked protestors.

The problem, the Alliance says, is that police do not always use the powers against people wearing coverings to intimidate and to avoid prosecution. It urges shoots to press for face coverings to be removed so offenders can be identified.

What happens next

Shoot managers are encouraged to read the guidance and brief their teams before the new season opens, so everyone on the day knows their role if saboteurs arrive. The full guidance sheet can be downloaded from the Countryside Alliance website, linked below.