*** Update ***
The sharp-eyed amongst you will have noted that the Crowd Justice button has been removed temporarily and the latest update can be found on Country Squire Magazine here.
In summary, the defendants have temporarily reverted to litigants in person, one consequence of which is that they are not permitted to fundraise via Crowd Justice. This is because a requirement of the site is that all funds raised must go directly to the representing solicitor(s).
The Crowd Justice facility will be re-activated once the defendants re-engage with their solicitors prior to the trial.
Countryside vs Packham – Packham 3?
There has been some confusion over who, or what, are ‘The Packham 3’.
They are the Editor of Country Squire Magazine, Dom Wightman, together with Nigel Bean and Paul Read who are contributors. They are currently being sued for defamation by BBC Presenter Chris Packham in a ‘Countryside VS Packham’ style case. The contention being a collection of articles published by the magazine were defamatory. Here is some background on the magazine: https://countrysquire.co.uk/about/
Country Squire magazine published a number of articles following an investigation that began in 2020. These articles were subsequently shared on various social media platforms. The articles concerned some tigers the Wild Heart Animal Sanctuary rehomed on the Isle of Wight.
‘The Packham 3’, as they have become to be known, have appointed their legal team and have submitted the draft defences to Mr Packham’s lawyers today, Friday the 8th April 2022. There will then be a case management conference at the end of April and the next court date – the main trial – is due to take place sometime in the Autumn of 2022.
‘The Packham 3’ are defending this legal action.
Fundraising
The defendants legal fees are estimated to be up to £250k and two fundraisers have been set up to address this massive cost.
The fundraising team, all independent unpaid volunteers, have been working very hard in the background to achieve the first target of £20K ten days ahead of the target date.
The fundraising team will continue to strive over the next few months, in this modern-day David and Goliath struggle. Equally important, your support is much appreciated and needed – both by donating, and/or sharing the fundraising pages. Any support your family, friends and colleagues can give will be greatly appreciated.
Along with the Kofi Fundraiser Page which you can pay into via Paypal there are now two fundraising auctions, one at Givergy and another at Jumblebee. You can access the auctions via the buttons below.
Please share this far and wide to get as much exposure as possible and secure funding as quickly as possible.
Similarly, if you have any fundraising ideas then please do get in touch via our Contacts form Contact – Countryside Fightback