A COUNTRY estate on the Lancashire/Cumbria border has been cleared of any wrongdoing after animal cruelty allegations led to a multi-agency investigation.

Leighton Hall, a medieval estate near Silverdale, has been the subject of a campaign by Keep the Ban, a group that calls for the end of hunting animals for sport.

Keep the Ban is calling for an end to the organised shooting of game birds at Leighton Hall, compiling an 'open letter' on its website to that end.

The campaign group claimed they have visited the estate in September 2022 and released distressing footage on its website.

Keep the Ban also forwarded footage to Lancashire Police and the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA), who jointly attended Leighton Hall to conduct its own investigation.

A Lancashire Police statement said: "We conducted a joint visit with the RSPCA. No offences have been committed and no further action taken."

An RSPCA spokesperson added: "We are aware of this upsetting footage and an officer visited the site soon after it had been reported to us but did not find any of the birds from the footage.

“The RSPCA is opposed to shooting for sport, but where game birds are reared or kept for breeding, they must always have access to appropriate facilities, including clean food and water and shelter.

"They should also be kept in such a way to minimise pecking injuries, and not kept in any type of cage and be provided with sufficient space and enrichment.

"Defra is responsible for the code of practice to protect the welfare of game birds when they are being reared and we have referred this issue to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)."

APHA, an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), said when contacted that its policy was not to comment on individual investigations.

Leighton Hall declined to comment when approached by The Westmorland Gazette.