RSPCA in row over ‘trial by social media’ of huntsman
Activists accuse charity of mishandling ‘evidence’ of alleged badger trapping that police saw online
THE RSPCA has become embroiled in a “trial by social media” row after police complained that footage of a hunt master allegedly trapping badgers was withheld despite being posted on the internet.
An animal rights group handed over footage of Christopher White setting traps on his woodlands in Derbyshire.
Activists shared the video on social media and with the BBC – but it was not brought to the attention of the police.
Derbyshire Police’s rural crime team said the group’s lack of contact indicated that “criminal prosecutions and the truth are not among their priori- ties”. Officers requested the original footage from the Hunt Investigations Team (HIT), which said it had given everything to the RSPCA, expecting the charity to show the police.
Mr White, joint master of Barlow Hunt, said the first he knew of the undercover filming was when he was visited by an RSPCA inspector in July. He says the officer told him there was insufficient evidence to prosecute but that the video would be put online.
“It has been a farce since the beginning,” he said. “If there was anything on the video, the RSPCA should have handed it over to the police.”
The charity said it did not release the footage and the police were not told as there was no evidence of a crime.
But because it purported to show an illegal activity, Derbyshire Police attempted to investigate after seeing it online, visiting the locations and interviewing Mr White under caution. Officers found “no evidence currently in our possession that proves offences had been committed”. In a statement on its Facebook page, the rural crime team said it was disappointed with those who filmed Mr White, adding: “A video can be edited to show what the editors want it to show. It can distort the truth and lead to conclusions being drawn that may not reflect the reality of what has happened. We do not know the reality of this case as unedited footage has not been provided.”
Police dropped the investigation, but Mr White said that the “trial by social media” had led to him receiving death threats. He said: “There never was a crime. You cannot imagine how frightened you can be going out of your own house when you live in the middle of nowhere. You don’t want to go out of your house, you don’t want to walk your dog, you don’t want to do anything. It has been trial by social media and the video looks like it has been altered.”
Mr White, who said he had trackers placed on his cars and drones filming inside his home, said he had actually been catching jays, magpies and crows, a legal activity that protects game and songbirds.
While happy the police had dropped the investigation, he said he was still trying to have the video taken down.
HIT, which aims to “expose and end blood sport cruelty”, said it condemned anyone making death threats but would not “engage with the games that Derbyshire Police are trying to play”.
A spokesman said: “All the evidence in this case (edited and unedited) was passed to the RSPCA and dealt with by one of the wildlife officers. The RSPCA is an enforcement agency and the right people to take this case forward.
“We believed they would be accompanied by the police when they visited Mr White but for reasons known only to them they decided not to involve Derbyshire Police. The RSPCA must speak for themselves and if they see fit give an account of the decisions they took.”
An RSPCA spokesman said: “As the police confirmed, they requested the footage from the organisation that filmed it, not from the RSPCA.
“We would only bring a prosecution if there was compelling evidence. In this instance the footage did not show an offence being committed. However, an inspector visited and gave advice about the legal use of traps.”
‘There never was a crime. It has been trial by social media and the video looks like it has been altered’