Help fund Chantelle’s trial for protesting animal abuse

In the early hours of the 1st of November 2023 a group of 30 or so activists from animal justice project arrived at AD Harvey chicken slaughterhouse in Bunwell, Norfolk.

This was to peacefully protest and object to their high welfare claims, following animal justice project's 'foul truth' investigation into their chicken catcher gangs who are deployed to depopulate, transport and slaughter egg laying hens at the end of their profitable life.

Activists stood outside the entrance to AD Harvey with placards, banners and tshirts printed with 'the foul truth' to make Bunwell residents aware that their neighbours aren't as high welfare as they claim to be.

Locals were horrified to learn of the ways workers turned up at egg farms in the middle of the night, depopulating sheds with 30,000 hens in just a few hours through kicking, throwing and carrying up to 5 hens by the leg in each hand in order to take them to their deaths as fast as possible.

Not long after the protest started, scared of their business being exposed, AD Harvey called the police who turned up with blue lights within minutes.

Typically Norfolk police were not remotely interested in the reason for the protest but were only concerned about the fact activists were preventing thousands of layer hens from being turned into dog and cat food.

As the protest went on more and more police arrived at the site of the attempted peaceful protest, all of whom stood back and ignored AD Harvey lorries and tractors ploughing into protesters to enter the slaughterhouse. After a couple of hours when they realised the activists were staying, they resorted to scare tactics, and out of nowhere targeted 4 activists, making arrests for public nuisance and aggravated trespass.

Among these activists was Chantelle Leach who's been taking part in protests, marches and demonstrations around the country since 2016 (notably the campaign at Wigboro Wick dairy farm in 2020 and more recently regularly attending we the free's, anti fox hunting demo's and taking direct action in the countryside also). She had stepped in to take the role of police liaison in order to protect other activists and keep the protest going and peaceful as long as possible so had been very careful to not commit any offences but as she walked to her car to check on her friend, a group of police chased her down and grabbed her.

Although Chantelle had never been arrested for protesting before and only had good intentions attending AD Harvey that day, she was we believe targeted, unlawfully arrested and held for 12 hours before being thrown out in the middle of the night in a town and county she didn't know. Just for trying to keep a protest peaceful. It didn't end there though.

Chantelle was given police bail conditions to not attend the county of Norfolk other than to return for bail or for court despite the fact her closest friends live there.

She was also bailed to not have any contact with her codefendants which leaves her even more alone in these confusing circumstances. Experiencing the courts and legal system is incredibly stressful and this condition isolates her from a support network.

And her final possibly most detrimental bail condition is to not share online about the court case directly or indirectly. This prevents her from receiving any support from people in the animal rights movement who are often willing to show support in all kinds of ways for those who are being put through the courts. As well as being an activist, Chantelle also works in order to support her rescue animals and fund her activism meaning she doesn't qualify for legal aid giving her even less of a fair shot at being rightly acquitted when it comes to her trial.

When she appealed this bail condition to the magistrates at her plea hearing, they chose to uphold it. Why her being prevented from posting about and talking about her court case online is that important to them is very suspicious. Even more so because a few months after these activists were arrested at AD Harvey, another action took place in Norfolk *inside* a slaughterhouse this time. These activists had their non contact bail conditions lifted almost immediately and were given permission to attend their plea hearing online rather than having to travel hours to Norwich courts. It would be interesting to know why this is.

So considering all of this, how her positive intentions at a protest which succeeded in AD Harvey having their RSPCA Assured label removed has well and truly turned her life upside down impacting her job, preventing her from doing activism or seeing friends in a whole county and most of all resulted in so much stress, she really needs *your* help now to help pay for a solicitor to represent her at the day of her trial in December 2024. She has given so much including her liberty to trying to help the animals over the years often travelling hours every weekend for activism and with these draconian bail conditions in place she will be struggling more than others are when they receive a legal aid solicitor and can talk to their codefendants about their case.

Please support her and share this in the way you'd like others to if it were you unlawfully arrested and targeted at a protest while trying to liaise to protect others.

Many thanks.

Do you want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money in aid of Animal Justice Project Trust and every donation will help. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

More information about Animal Justice Project Trust: Animal Justice Project’s mission is a society free from animal exploitation and we work strategically within five key areas to achieve this.