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Guilty: Verdict In for Hunting and Shooting Shop Protestors

Three Animal Rising campaigners have been found guilty of criminal damage at Southwark Crown Court today (15/12/25). The charges arose from a peaceful protest, on 8 October 2022, that saw the front of gun and hunting shop William Evans in Central London covered with eco-friendly paint to depict scenes of nature and rewilding. [1]

  • The action called on the UK Government to listen to public opinion and end hunting and shooting for sport, in order to protect wildlife and support the rewilding and restoration of our countryside.

  • The total costs claimed by the shop as a result of the protest were £9,844.80.

  • The protest took place during a peaceful Animal Rising march from Green Park to Westminster Bridge that saw another hunting shop, Farlows, targeted by other protestors. At the time, the group was known as Animal Rebellion. [2]

  • The campaigners are due to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 03/02/26.


Today (15/12/25), a Crown Court trial for three Animal Rising protestors charged with nearly £10,000 of ‘criminal damage’ to a billionaire-owned gun shop has resulted in three guilty verdicts. Hundreds of campaigners took to the streets in Animal Rising’s march for Love & Resistance on October 8th 2022. In response to the climate and nature emergencies, they called for an end to the damaging practices of hunting, shooting and rearing animals for food, and instead demanded support for mass-rewilding enabled by freeing up land by shifting to a plant-based food system.


The court, overseen by Judge Justin Mark Cole, heard how the defendants were motivated by a love of nature and wildlife, and unhappy with the government’s inaction on bloodsports despite public opinion on the issue. The vast majority of the public oppose hunting (83%) and shooting (69%) for sport. [3][4] 


The breakdown of the £9,844.80 costs was £3,420 for cleaning, £1,980 for additional costs after cleaning, and £4,444.80 for re-painting and preventative measures against future protests. Defendants claimed they had no reason to believe the eco-friendly paint would be difficult to remove from the front of the shop.


Zuki Paul, 25, from Manchester, was one of the three found guilty today and said:

“I took part in this peaceful protest to highlight the immense harm done to animals and nature by the hunting and shooting industries. My intention was never to cause damage, but instead to prevent damage, and protect our natural environment.”
“As a child, I was aware of the climate and nature emergencies, but I trusted those in power to take action to protect our environment and wildlife. But when I grew up, this hope faded. In the lead up to this protest I was shocked to find out that the number of ‘game-birds’ killed every year is equal to the population of Reading, my childhood town, being shot every day.”
“When I stood in front of William Evans, put my fingers into the pale green paint, and then onto the window, I imagined a future: One where foxes and their cubs run wild and free, pheasants aren’t factory farmed, a grouse’s curiosity isn’t a death sentence, birds of prey safely soar high in the sky, ecosystems thrive, carbon remains trapped in the moorlands, and the law doesn’t regard the shooting of birds as a ‘good reason’ to own a firearm.”

Lex Korte, 30, from Bristol, another of the defendants, said:

“Since our peaceful protest 3 years ago, things have only got worse for wildlife and nature. Future generations will look back in confusion as to why paint on a shop window was treated as a crime whilst the cage-breeding, mass-releasing and lead-shooting of sentient and beautiful birds was deemed a sport. We urgently need thriving ecosystems to safeguard our water and food supplies. I’m proud that we took a stand for wildlife, it’s only a matter of time before these atrocious practices are made history and I’m glad we could be a part of it. Emma Reynolds must do the right thing, listen to the public, and protect our wildlife by banning all bloodsports in our nation of animal lovers.”

Their evidence that the shooting industry causes widespread harm to animals and the environment included practices such as:

  • The mass breeding and release of birds for ‘sport’ Every year, millions of pheasants and partridges are bred and then released in the UK so they can be shot for entertainment. [5] Many begin life in intensive breeding units, with eggs and chicks imported from Europe before being reared and released here. Most will never live anything like a natural life.

  • The killing of wildlife in the name of ‘conservation’ To keep numbers of ‘shootable’ birds high, shooting estates routinely kill wild animals such as foxes, stoats and crows in “predator control” operations. Birds of prey and other native species can also be targeted or disturbed – all to protect shooting profits, not nature. [6]

  • The burning of moorland and damaging of peat On grouse moors, heather is often burned to create new growth for grouse to eat and to maximise the number of birds available to be shot. This burning can damage fragile peatlands that should be storing carbon, harm other wildlife and contribute to flooding downstream. [7]

  • The increased risk of disease and bird flu transmission Breeding, transporting and releasing huge numbers of birds for shoots adds to the ways that diseases like bird flu can spread between farmed birds and wild birds, with potential knock-on risks for other animals and people. In the UK we are currently witnessing mass outbreaks of what experts have termed the ‘most dangerous bird flu strain ever’. [8]


Animal Rising is a social movement to create a new relationship with all beings and give us a chance for a safe ecological future. The group primarily calls for the transition to a secure and sustainable plant-based food system, alongside a mass rewilding programme.


ENDS


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