Possible jail term for animal rights activist

By [bbanks]

An animal rights activist is facing a possible jail sentence after he was convicted of taking part in a raid on a Lincolnshire rabbit farm.

Lewis Pogson had denied he was among a group of protesters who forced their way into a shed at a farm in Normanby-by-Spital, near Market Rasen.

But he was convicted at Lincoln Crown Court.

Pogson denied taking part in the attack, claiming he was at his mother's home in Dulwich, south-east London, on the night of the incident.

But after two days of deliberations a jury found the 23-year-old, of Little Bornes, Dulwich, guilty of four charges relating to the break-in.

Felicity Gerry, prosecuting, said the raid was intended to persuade farmer Jeffrey Douglas to stop trading with research firm Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Pogson had links to a protest group that targets Huntingdon and its suppliers, and equipment used in the raid was found in his mother's garage.

A shopping bag discovered at the house also contained straw and hay, suggesting it might have been used to remove some of the rabbits.

Pogson was bailed until the New Year.

For more on the case, see Wednesday's Echo.