MORPETH SQUIRREL KILLER IS ARRESTED

You just couldn't make this up could you?

A WILDLIFE campaigner who challenged the RSPCA to prosecute him for drowning a grey squirrel has been arrested.

Norris Atthey, 66, was arrested by police at his home in Ulgham yesterday (Wednesday) after refusing to take part in a voluntary interview with an RSPCA inspector.

He was taken into custody for questioning on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

His arrest follows a report in the 'Herald' last week in which Mr Atthey said he had drowned a grey squirrel to show it was a humane method of culling.

He was incensed after reading of the RSPCA's prosecution of Raymond Elliott in Burton last month for drowning a grey in a water butt and said he had acted to challenge the charity, arguing that he could show the killing was humane.

He believes grey squirrels should be killed to protect the native red species.

Speaking just minutes before his arrest on Wednesday, Mr Atthey told the 'Herald' he has no regrets about the drowning and is unconcerned about any action taken against him, revealing that he has recently had a cancer diagnosis.

"I had bowel cancer in 2001 and was given a 30 to 40 percent chance of surviving five years so I see anything in my life after 2006 as a bonus. I have just been diagnosed with prostate cancer so perhaps I see things differently to other people," he said.

"This action doesn't bother me. I think I'm right and I'm going to protect my red squirrels."

Mr Atthey was contacted by the RSPCA on Tuesday and refused to co-operate with their enquiries.

An officer returned to his home on Wednesday morning and Mr Atthey handed over a written statement, but refused to speak to the official.

Assistance was then requested from police to arrest him.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "Police were called to assist an RSPCA officer at an address in Ulgham at around 10.45am.

"Officers arrested a 66-year-old man at the address for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal."

Why were no arrests made when an RSPCA inspector slaughtered 10 German Shepherds with a captive bolt gun last year? Which is an act of truly barbaric cruelty? Drowning an animal classed as vermin or mercilessly dragging 10 gsd's one by one out of their home on a catchpole then dead bolting them at least once with a CBG and finally killing them by pithing with a screwdriver? We know they killed at least 65 dogs in this horrific way last year.

MORPETH HERALD

SEND IN THE HEAVIES AND THE RSPCA LEGAL TEAM!!

Squirrel killer issues RSPCA prosecution challenge

A MORPETH wildlife campaigner has drowned a grey squirrel in a challenge to the RSPCA to prosecute him.

Norris Atthey, Chairman of Morpeth Red Squirrels, killed the creature last week as part of his grey culling activities.

His actions were meant as a direct challenge to the animal charity following its prosecution of Raymond Elliott at Burton Magistrates Court last month for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal after he drowned a grey squirrel in a water butt.

Elliott, who admitted the charge, was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £1,547 costs.

However, the matter is believed to be going to appeal.

Mr Atthey, who thinks grey squirrels should be killed to ensure the survival of Northumberland's red species, said he was incensed by the prosecution and set out to show that drowning was a humane method of culling.

He said the death of the squirrel in the greater Morpeth area last Wednesday was over in seconds, quicker than his usual method of shooting them, and minimal distress was caused to the animal.

"I submerged this grey squirrel for a few seconds in the water and it was dead within 30 seconds," he said.

"Of approximately 250 greys that I have killed, that has been the quickest method. Normally it can take one to three minutes.

"The usual method is shooting them. Ninety per cent have been one-off shots, but it is still possible that you might miss or not kill it properly.

"Another method is to transfer a grey into a hessian sack and hit it with a club. I think that is absolutely brutal so I don't use it."

However, Mr Atthey said he will wait to see if any legal action is taken against him before drowning another squirrel.

"This drowning was a one-off. I'm trying to prove a point. This is to test the RSPCA, it is a challenge. I can demonstrate the trapping procedures if it goes to court," he said.

"This was humane and this grey squirrel was not under stress. What I have done is better because it was quicker so it has to be more humane.

"I believe that under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act, drowning a grey squirrel is legal as long as it is done quickly as part of pest control. What I am doing is pest control."

The RSPCA refused to comment on the incident due to the ongoing legal case in Burton.

A factsheet on grey squirrels from the charity says killing them should only be considered as a last resort if there is a serious problem and alternative means of control are ineffective or impractical.

It warns that killing is unlikely to be a long-term solution and that it is an offence if any unnecessary suffering is caused to captured animals.

Natural England advises that grey squirrels can be run into a sack and killed by a sharp blow to the head, or shot in a cage, but trapped squirrels should not be drowned as it is considered inhumane.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is illegal to release grey squirrels or allow them to escape into the wild.

A Natural England spokesman said: "The Animal Welfare Act 2006 protects 'animals under the control of man' and so squirrels in traps or cages would be covered.

"This Act prohibits causing unnecessary suffering to such animals.

"It would be for the courts to decide whether the method of killing, be it drowning or any other method, caused any suffering and if so if this was unnecessary or not in any particular case brought before them."

MORPETH HERALD

RSPCA PERSECUTE ANOTHER VICTIM

RSPCA: End this cruelty to animal owners

The animal charity is spending too much time prosecuting innocent animal owners, believes Christopher Booker

Last week I reported on the tragic story of Alan Brough, the retired builder who became so depressed, after the RSPCA had – for no good reason – taken the herd of 90 semi-wild ponies he had looked after for 30 years on the Cumbrian moors, that he hanged himself.

This week’s story, again passed on to me by SHG (the Self-Help Group set up to advise victims of RSPCA persecution), concerns Michael O’Neill, an Anglesey horse breeder. For three years he was dragged through the courts by the RSPCA, after one of its officials had in 2007 seen sores on two horses he had bought from Ireland for £10,000.

The RSPCA instigated criminal charges against Mr O’Neill, claiming that the sores must have been caused by collars round his horses’ necks. Mr O’ Neill’s vet had already diagnosed their cause as a rare bacterial infection called strangles, for which he had been treating the animals. As the case dragged on, threatening the closure of his business, Mr O’Neill became so stressed that his health deteriorated. At one hearing last year, he had a stroke in the courtroom.

Last week, when the trial finally concluded, the magistrates acquitted Mr O’Neill of all charges, saying he could leave the court with “an untarnished reputation”. Such stories should be brought to the attention of all those generous folk who still provide the RSPCA with an income of £115 million a year in donations, without realising what a change has come over that once admirable organisation – and how much of its activity, according to critics, is now devoted to prosecuting innocent animal owners in order to generate the publicity that keeps those donations rolling in.

Christopher Booker- Daily Telegraph