The organization Network for Animal Freedom has illegally entered Norwegian pig barns and documented poor animal welfare. Several of the cases have ended up in the legal system and generated a lot of media attention. Now the police are investigating threats and harassment against the animal conservationists. Spokesperson for the animal protection organisation, Tor Grobstok, takes the threats seriously. – It is not nice to receive a message that you should be shot or drowned in the manure cellar, he says. Several of the messages are still out on the internet, and in the police report, the Network for Animal Freedom points out that several of the threats are sent by people who have weapons. Several are hunters, one is chairman of a shooting club and one is a member of a gun club. The police initially put the case aside The police initially wanted to put the case aside and pointed to a lack of capacity. But the State Attorney has ordered the police to look at the case again. – The case is under investigation, confirms police attorney Jan-Thomas Lunde at the East police district. Beyond this, the police do not wish to comment on the case. Animal rights activist Marthe Hårstad says she is scared by the threatening language in the comments section. – It is scary to know that it leads to fantasies of violence to show how animal welfare is in Norwegian pig barns. Especially since many of these have weapons, she says. Tor Grobstok and Marthe Hårstad have received dozens of threats after they entered the pig barn and documented objectionable conditions. Photo: Bård Siem / news Documented conditions in 65 pig barns news met Grobstok and Hårstad in Sogn og Fjordane district court in Førde a couple of weeks ago. Pictures and video clips they had taken were key evidence in a trial against two pig farmers in Nordfjord. Grobstok understands that it can be provocative for the farmers that unauthorized people enter their barns, but says that they had no choice. – This was the only way to uncover the relationship. Threats of violence and murder are in any case unacceptable, says Grobstok. PAINFUL: This pig with an infected tail wound was photographed in a barn in Sogn og Fjordane in June 2018. The picture, which was taken by the Network for Animal Freedom, was part of the evidence in the court case. Photo: Tor Grobstok / Network for animal freedom Being bullied with “pig bank” The messages are mainly posted on the “Friends of Norwegian Agriculture” page on Facebook. But the Facebook pages of the newspapers Nationen and Bondebladet have also been used. The following messages were published on the Nation’s pages: “Sad of course people are shot, but of course they ask for it, that’s okay”. “Don’t just lock the door, but post a self-shot, so the pack gets a well-deserved welcome” in the barn. Hope some of these self-appointed experts are discovered one night and beaten.” On the pages of Bondebladet, the following was read: “If someone were to break into the farms here in my area illegally, the campaigners will be met with armed resistance”. “Here someone can be shot and lose their life”. Network for animal freedom documented objectionable conditions in 65 Norwegian pig barns. Photo: Network for animal freedom The Nation and Bondebladet apologize – Threats and harassment are not acceptable. news’s messages indicate a breach of guidelines for the use of the Nationen’s comment fields, writes responsible editor Irene Halvorsen in the Nationen in an e-mail to news. She said that the cases about revelations in Norwegian pig barns led to many comments, and that they went through and removed content that violated the guidelines. Responsible editor Iver Gamme in Bondebladet also criticizes himself. – If we had been aware that these messages when they were published, they would never have been approved. We apologize for what has happened. Editor-in-chief Irene Halvorsen in Nationen regrets that threatening and harassing messages against the Network for Animal Freedom were published. Photo: Mariann Tvete / Mariann Tvete Confidence: – It will be the last thing they do The head of the Norwegian Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association in Sogn og Fjordane, Hanne Bjerkvik, is among those who have reported to the police. In messages on social media, she expressed that she was “absolutely pissed off” and posted the following: Bjerkvik says that it was a pointed wording that was meant as a warning against entering unknown barns because it could be dangerous. – Then you can risk both wildlife and your own life. It was not meant as a threat, she says. – Do you understand that it can be perceived as a threat? – Not really. If you read with the wrong intentions, most things can become a threat, she says. – Do you regret posting the message? – I don’t know that. In the light of hindsight, I would have reworded it. I would say the same, but in other words. Bjerkvik adds that she was not aware that she had been reported to the police before news contacted her, and that she has so far not been contacted by the police. Leaders of the Norwegian Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association, Kjersti Hoff, also point out that it is unacceptable for anyone to act threateningly. But she supports the trustee. – I still understand that what our union representative writes is more of a warning that it is dangerous to enter barns with animals with horns, than a threat, she says. The leader of the Norwegian Farmers’ and Small Farmers’ Association, Kjersti Hoff, supports the union representative who has been reported to the police for making threats against the Network for Animal Freedom. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news Tor Grobstok in the Animal Freedom Network hopes that those who have made threats will be convicted. – Not least out of consideration for all those who want to get involved in animal welfare, but who are frightened because they are threatened with murder and violence, he says.
ttn-69
