Dead deer left on the doorstep of badger campaigner – BBC News
A woman campaigning against the badger cull in England says she has been the victim of harassment, including having a dead deer left on her doorstep.
Lorna Aucott allows her house in north Devon to be used as a base for people who want to legally monitor the cull.
Since the cull started, she says that firecrackers have been set off on her property and that her husband has been threatened by marksmen.
Culling is part of the government’s 25-year strategy to eradicate bovine TB.
In the past few weeks, Mrs Aucott claims that pro-cull campaigners have used intimidation tactics including threatening language towards her husband, firing shots in the woods next to her home and shining lasers through their kitchen window.
The lasers caused Mrs Aucott’s daughter – who is recovering from a long-term head injury – to fall out of her wheelchair.
Speaking about the night the dead deer was abandoned on their property, she said: “It had been skinned and piled up with its intestines and legs on top.
“We’ve been scared and worried in case they go a step further and hurt our animals. We’re on edge the whole time, worried about every car that goes past.
“We’ve been distressed since it started,” she added.
Devon and Cornwall Police have been involved at various points throughout the cull, but Mrs Aucott is not satisfied with the support they have had, saying action has not been taken early enough.
In a statement, the police said: “Although the badger cull is not a police-led operation, we will always seek to investigate any allegation of illegal activity.”
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