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Animal rights body 'forced me to make threats'
A woman accused of blackmailing a kennels owner as part of a campaign by animal rights activists has publicly apologised for making threatening telephone calls to him.
Suzanne Jaggers, 35, of Upper Sackville Street, Skipton, is alleged to have made calls to Brett Cassidy and his Cheshire-based business last October and in April 2007 after he was targeted by Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), which campaigns against the Cambridgeshire research facility, Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) and claimed the kennels had business links to it.
Yesterday, Jaggers claimed she had been pressured into making the calls by SHAC.
She told a jury at Bradford Crown Court that she feared she would be beaten up and that she made the phone calls even though she didn't want to.
When asked why she made the calls, she said: "Because I felt under pressure to do it. Basically they would ring up and say we have to keep the pressure on ... if you love animals this is what you've got to do."
Mr Cassidy broke down as he gave evidence about the effect of the campaign on his staff and business. After his firm was named on the SHAC website he contacted them to say he had no dealings with HLS but the campaign against him escalated to noisy protests outside his kennels.
Jaggers admitted making a call to Mr Cassidy on October 8 during which she said: "I'm trying to protect you. There's some real nutters in the organisation."
In another phone call in April, which she also admitted, Jaggers said Mr Cassidy's vehicles would be firebombed.
Jaggers claimed that she had never attended any of the demonstrations at Little Creek Kennels.
"SHAC instructed me what to do. I didn't particularly want to do it," she said.
"I went to the police and asked for help and the police in Skipton basically told me to get lost."
She said the phone calls were wrong and added: "I'm very sorry about it."
Jaggers has denied three charges of blackmail.
The trial continues.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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