Four anti-fur activists, dubbed the “free bunnies”, have been found guilty of aggravated trespass following a protest at a flagship Dolce & Gabbana store in Mayfair, London. The four women, aged between 22 and 63, staged their protest at the Italian luxury fashion store on 20 September 2019, dressing up in white rabbit costumes to highlight what they said was the cruel and inhumane treatment of rabbits reared for a type of fur known as orylag, used in certain Dolce & Gabbana products. The court heard that at the time of the protest there were 24 “units” of fur on sale at the store. Dolce & Gabbana did not specify what kind of products were sold, nor the type of fur. A vegan substance made with grape juice to resemble blood was daubed on the exterior wall and windows of the fashion store. At the trial at Hendon magistrates court all four activists pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated trespass. Three were also charged with and pleaded not guilty to criminal damage. The court heard that none of the four had committed any previous offences and all were described as being of good character. All were found guilty of all the charges against them. They told the court Dolce & Gabbana staff locked the door soon after they entered and because of this, they could not walk out after their short protest. Dolce & Gabbana’s retail director at the store, Joe Buckland, told the court that the protesters were intimidating staff and customers, a charge all denied. He said he had discussed his evidence with Dolce & Gabbana lawyers in Milan. Initially he told the court the protesters had not been locked in the store but later accepted that this was incorrect and that the protesters were unable to leave immediately after their protest because the front door had been locked. He added that cleaning the fake blood from exterior walls and windows had cost the company £3,684. Video footage of the women dressed in the bunny outfits inside the store was shown to the court. They can be heard chanting: “Dolce & Gabbana, we are here to let you know we will not tolerate the abuse of our animal friends.” The defendants were Sapphire Mckenzie-O’Neill, 22, a fashion model, Helen Maclean, 63, a Red Cross volunteer, Aima Smith, 38, an NHS crisis worker, and Dagmara Sokolowa, 40, an IT specialist. Sokolowa was the only one of the four not charged with criminal damage. Sailesh Mehta, defending two of the four accused, said: “Orylag rabbits are specifically created and bred in France. There’s enough evidence to show the horrendous conditions they are reared in. That creates an offence in France and in this country.” Maclean told the court: “We just wanted to get our voice over and then leave. As far as we are concerned Dolce & Gabbana committed a criminal offence based on cruelty to animals reared in France.” Smith said that the activists entered the store, gave a short speech, chanted and then wanted to leave. She said that she had confirmed that Dolce & Gabbana was selling orylag fur by entering another of the company’s stores in July 2019, two months before the protest, posing as a customer and asking to see some fur coats. Two were brought for her and she said she saw the orylag label. In his concluding submissions, Mehta told the court: “Generations to come may wonder how it is that we have come to this position in a civilised society that we allow this level of cruelty to our fellow creatures. They may wonder why it is they [the activists] who are in the dock rather than Dolce & Gabbana.” District judge Nicholas Rimmer in his judgment acknowledged that the activists “care deeply about charitable causes and animal welfare” but added: “I do not accept a lack of intention to cause obstruction or disruption. Whatever the nobility of the motive the threshold of peaceful, lawful protest was undoubtedly crossed.” The four were given conditional discharges and the three convicted of criminal damage were ordered to pay Dolce & Gabbana’s cleaning bill to remove the red dye. In 2000 the UK made it illegal to keep animals “solely or primarily for slaughter for the value of their fur”, but it is not illegal to import fur farmed abroad. Three of the activists attended in person, while Helen Maclean attended via video link. After leaving court, the three activists said: “Justice was not done today. It was a David and Goliath struggle and Goliath won. I hope this case will raise awareness about the suffering of these animals and remind people to buy fake fur.”