Animal Rights Protester's committal upheld
The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by an animal rights protester found to be in contempt of court for breach of an anti-harassment injunction designed to protect farmers and others who were participating in the pilot scheme for the culling of badgers to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis.
The National Farmers’ Union, the trade association that represents the interests of farmers and growers, had obtained an injunction preventing harassment of those participating in the badger cull.
Jay Tiernan (a spokesman for a protest group against the culling of badgers) had been held to be contempt of court of that injunction by Sir David Eady. The contemnor was sentenced to imprisonment for 6 months suspended for two years. He appealed to the Court of Appeal on various grounds including that his Article 6 right to a fair trial had been infringed and the injunction was unenforceable as it was too wide.
Mr Tiernan’s appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed by Patten, Fulford and Sharp LJJ with Sharp LJ delivering the lead judgment.
5RB‘s Christina Michalos (instructed by Foot Anstey LLP) acted for the National Farmers’ Union both at the successful committal hearing and on appeal.
The 5RB case report can be found here.
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