The farmers always say this to try and get the feds to “do more about raves”, but when the only way of clearing a site is now 3 forces combined in riot gear, its not the sort of thing they can do too often.
Not just the cost but the fact they can’t guarantee that many cops are available at a weekend, and there is a hidden knock on effect that when they react in such a manner, it also spreads so much hatred of the Police throughout the youth of EA or anyone else who gets caught up in this. This ironically makes a lot of people feel justified in also “taking the law into their own hands!”.
There have in fact been vigilante actions on both sides. Farmers have attacked rig vans and pushed over stacks, so there have been reprisal attacks on farm machinery and vehicles and some (by no means all!) youths feel no compunction about vandalism or leaving the rubbish behind as they feel “well that other farmer pushed over the stack”…
TBH Tony Martin was more of a special case – he wasn’t really an active farmer but a sad old man who was physically infirm, lived in a darkened house full of junk, had become alienated from wider society and had been robbed a few times already. Even then he still did time inside for what he did and to this day has to look over his shoulder.
I suspect no succesfull farmer is going to throw their life away to prison and put themselves and their family at risk from reprisals just to “defend” property that can be replaced. Especially as the people who cause these problems are stupid rather than malicious, its not like organised gangs who invade a farm and nick machinery/plant for resale (a trade which must be funded by other farmers!)
There might be a very remote risk from a farmer who has already hit hard times, is suffering from mental illness and sees this sort of thing as “the last straw” (but this can happen at any time without a rave occuring and usually they turn on their families first).
The farmers do actually feel bullied and intimidated these days, and what they are now lobbying for is the CJA to extended so any trespass for a rave can be criminalised whether or not the neighbours complain about the noise.
The saddest part of this is there must still be ways of doing parties in East Anglia without causing anyone any inconvenience, but they might just require a bit more effort and less ketamine..
