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Animal rights activist faces prison
Wednesday 5pm 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 denied he was among a group of protesters who forced their way into a shed at Highgate Farm, Normanby-by-Spital.
Lincoln Crown Court heard how the intruders stole 129 New Zealand White rabbits bred specifically for the animal research industry.
Animal rights slogans were also daubed on the building's walls, along with a warning that read: "Close down - or we'll close you down."
Farmer Jeffrey Douglas woke the next morning to discover the tyres on his Lamborghini slashed and the vehicle covered in paint-stripper.
Expandable foam was also sprayed inside the car's exhaust system, leaving him with a repair bill totalling around 56,000.
A van, a quad bike and a ride-on lawnmower were also vandalised in the raid, which was carried out in the early hours of January 7 last year.
Mr Douglas said of the painted warning: "I took it to mean that if I didn't stop trading they would come back and do further damage.
"I was going to close down. After discussions with various people we decided to continue, but we did stop trading for three or four months."
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 Mr 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 denied offences of blackmail, criminal damage, theft and interfering with a contractual relationship as a result of the incident.
He was granted bail after Judge Ebrahim Mooncey adjourned the case until the New Year to allow pre-sentence reports to be be prepared.
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Weather for Market Rasen
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
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