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Taking a swarm on public footpath
- Thread starter Chris B
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Given that the location of the bees in question was well inside the property, I think that it would have been amusing to contemplate that had they not been encountered, then the gate would have been locked on exit as it had been opened on entry.
There are several miles of track, so an encounter is not a given. I might even have considered, if I had the time to spare, stopping for a jolly pint in view of the locked gate and watched the antics. Trespass might be a civil crime, but property damage is a crime.
Even with an encounter, given different circumstances, perhaps the assumption could be that they were there with permission and therefore have legitimate access. So locking the gate could not be considered unlawful imprisonment.
1, The interloper calmly awaits your return to be released.
2, The interloper jemmies the lock on your gates and is caught on CCTV recording or intercepted while leaving the property.
In my mind, there is no difference between the situation I have described and the situation as it occurred, with the exception of the encounter.
If I arrived to find the interloper inside my gates waiting to be released, then I would, at the very least, be asking for any property to be declared with a view to surrender.
What next, a combined harvester because there is a rape crop been reported growing there?
I think that I'm with Stilllearning on this one.
There are several miles of track, so an encounter is not a given. I might even have considered, if I had the time to spare, stopping for a jolly pint in view of the locked gate and watched the antics. Trespass might be a civil crime, but property damage is a crime.
Even with an encounter, given different circumstances, perhaps the assumption could be that they were there with permission and therefore have legitimate access. So locking the gate could not be considered unlawful imprisonment.
If someone drove through the gates into your extensive garden to take a swarm of your bees that had been reported by to a swarm coordinator by someone taking a shortcut because through your property while you were busy decorating/cooking/doing office work, what would your feelings about the situation then. If you went out on an extended shopping trip without noticing the interloper and locked your gates behind you what then?
1, The interloper calmly awaits your return to be released.
2, The interloper jemmies the lock on your gates and is caught on CCTV recording or intercepted while leaving the property.
In my mind, there is no difference between the situation I have described and the situation as it occurred, with the exception of the encounter.
If I arrived to find the interloper inside my gates waiting to be released, then I would, at the very least, be asking for any property to be declared with a view to surrender.
What next, a combined harvester because there is a rape crop been reported growing there?
I think that I'm with Stilllearning on this one.
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