British animal rights activist participates in terror against guinea pig farm

A 38-year-old woman admitted Tuesday that she participated in a campaign of terror against a guinea pig farm which culminated in grave robbing. Josephine Mayo of Birmingham was the fourth person to plead guilty to charges of conspiring to blackmail the owners of Darley Oaks Farm, which raised guinea pigs for medical research.

Photo: British animal rights activist participates in terror against guinea pig farm

Kerry Whitburn, 36, John Smith, 39, and John Ablewhite, 36, all pleaded guilty to the charge on Monday. Police recorded hundreds of incidents in the campaign of intimidation against the Hall family and their employees at Darley Oaks which began in 1999 and continued until 2005, when the family reverted to traditional farming. Six hundred guinea pigs were stolen from the farm at the beginning of the campaign; there was at least one arson attempt; bricks were thrown through windows; paint was stripped from cars; local pubs were attacked; and explosives were set off at night.

In October 2004, the body of Gladys Hammond, the mother-in-law of one of the Hall brothers, were removed from a graveyard at Yoxall in central England . The family was told that her remains would be returned if the guinea pig operation ceased, but they have still not been recovered, reports the AP.

N.U.