Gamekeeper's Son Prevents Filming
A row has erupted after police prevented shoot monitors filming a duck and pheasant shoot at a Lancashire beauty spot from.
Animal welfare campaigners today accused police of wasting valuable resources by sending several officers, including undercover officers, to the shoot at Hoghton Tower, near Preston.
Hoghton Tower Shoot gamekeeper (l) and son - a serving police officer (r) who threatened to arrest anyone filming his dad's shoot.
But police have argued the patrols were dispatched to prevent any "potential breach of peace or aggravated trespass" and "to allow a lawful, legal event to continue".
However campaigners from the Northwest Animal Welfare group said, "We fully understand why the Hoghton Tower Shoot doesn't want their callous shoots being made public. The public has a right to know what is happening at Hoghton Tower and the police should be impartial. The only peace that was being broken was by the sound of the shooters' guns."
Members told the Evening Post they were now writing to the Chief Constable of Lancashire asking him to explain why police officers are attending shoots at Hoghton Tower.
Mr Stratton added: "No shooter has ever been threatened, so why are police allocating so much time and resources to this activity? The police have never contacted us to reach a mutual understanding to enable us to make a peaceful lawful protest."
A police spokesman said: "Lancashire Police were aware that a shoot was taking place at Hoghton Tower last Friday. During the event, the police received a call reporting a number of protestors [there were two] at the scene. Patrols were dispatched to prevent any potential breach of the peace or aggravated trespass and to allow a lawful, legal event to continue."
Gamekeeper's Son
After contacting the Chief Constable of Lancashire it transpires that the police officer who threatened to arrest the monitors for 'further breach of the peace' if they filmed ducks or pheasants being shot just happened to be the gamekeeper's son. Small world!
