Country sports fans targeted by online bullies

Survey shows two-thirds of country sport enthusiasts have been targeted

SUPPORTERS of hunting and other country sports have been called criminals, murderers and paedophiles in “violent, aggressive and cruel” online abuse.

A Countryside Alliance survey, completed by more than 500 people, found 63% of these had been bullied or harrassed for supporting country sports.

One respondent wrote: “I live in isolation, don’t compete any more, don’t ride, don’t go out. Too afraid to go to work. Lives totally destroyed and no-one cares.”

Businesses have been targeted, some of which have deleted social media accounts as a result.

H&H reported in 2016 on East Yorkshire-based AK Wedding Photography, which was subject to a torrent of abuse and bad reviews from anti-hunt activists after it shared a picture of a hound.

“It’s outrageous anyone can make up lies and say whatever they like, often using false profiles, to try to damage a business in this way,” said co-founder Kristy Wesson at the time.

Countryside Alliance head of policy Sarah Lee said: “The online bullying of rural communities who support country sports continues to grow and has become more aggressive and antagonistic.

“When we first raised the issue last year, we asked social media platforms to take action and understand the serious nature of animal rights extremists. We were met with platitudes that they take all forms of bullying seriously, yet our survey results tell a different story.

“The government and social media need to act now to reassure supporters that content is policed properly and all forms of abuse are taken seriously. We will once again write to Facebook and Twitter asking for a meeting and demand they take this abuse seriously.”

The majority of respondents felt social media sites are not doing enough to combat the issue.

In a Parliament hearing in March 2017, MPs also criticised Facebook and Twitter for not doing enough to ban inappropriate content.

A Facebook spokesman told H&H: “We believe Facebook should be a place where people can engage in lively and critical debate around issues that matter to them. But we do not tolerate bullying, and if debate tips into bullying, hate speech or credible threats of violence, we will take action. We encourage our community to report anything that worries them using our reporting tools on every page, profile and piece of content.”

H&H has approached Twitter for comment.