Abstract
State criminalisation of activism has been a key feature of environmental and animal rights protests for decades. A renewed focus in recent years has come with a swathe of police powers designed to curb new methods introduced by groups who recognise the dire consequences of human supremacy/man-made harms. In contextualising police powers from the 1990s, the chapter compares animal rights’ activism and environmental protest specific to aggravated trespass. The chapter argues that identifying when, if and how the police choose to use these powers reveals historical and contemporary sites of privilege. These are maintained today both in relation to land ownership (that sustains animal cruelty practices) as well as economically powerful oil and gas companies. Whilst originally grounded in classism, sites of privileges can be extended to provide analysis to other communities’ experiences of the police and criminal legal sector and who it is they seek to serve. The chapter also provides an historically significant overview of the role of the Hunt Saboteurs Association that informs on political and police response to certain types of direct action which, given the urgency of man-made harms, will grow in significance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Policing in Crisis? |
| Subtitle of host publication | Policing and resistance in 21st century Britain |
| Publisher | Bristol University Press |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 14 Feb 2025 |
