High court clampdown on puppy farm protestors outside pet shop
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A High Court judge has clamped down on demonstrators fighting the sale of puppies at a Reading pet shop.
Members of Stop Pet Shop Pups (SPSP) have been organising regular pickets outside Lintons Pet Store Ltd, in Hare Hatch.
However, they will now be able to protest for just four hours each week, and only one at the weekend, after Mr Justice Garnham said their activities were "arguably oppressive and unacceptable".
The judge, sitting in London, said the protests disrupted Lintons and other traders at Ladds Garden Village, in Bath Road, where the pet shop is based.
He added: "This conduct, in my view, crosses the line into a form of torment and harassment."
Lintons says all of its dogs come from licensed breeders. The judge also said there was "no evidence to suggest any unlawful trading" at the store.
Lintons' owners, Jean and Loridana Agius, took legal action against SPSP, saying the group's activities had gone "way beyond peaceful protest".
Mr Justice Garnham said SPSP were entitled to express their views "forcefully and publicly" and could not be censured if they put people off buying puppies from the store.
However, he said their protests would be restricted because they affected the businesses at the garden centre "week in, week out".
The judge said: "There is a good arguable case that the defendants' objective is to mount their protests at a time, and in a manner, calculated to cause financial harm to the claimants.
"They do so in a manner which also has an indirect effect on the garden centre.
"That is bound to cause, and in my judgment has caused, real difficulty and distress to the claimants and to the other traders.
"It is not oppressive for the protesters to make their points forcefully and publicly, nor is it objectionable if their protests have the effect of persuading people not to purchase puppies - that is their aim.
"But the purpose of their protests is to intimidate potential customers into not visiting the garden centre."
The group can only protest between 10.30am and 11.30am on Saturdays as well as for a single, three-hour, period during the week.
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