Photo Story

Title: The Battle of Brightlingsea
Photographer: David Ames
Web site: Media4All   Email: david@media4all.co.uk
David Ames' Media4All describes with over 500 photos the live export trade from Brightlingsea.
For larger versions of some of these photos type Brightlingsea in the Gallery search box.

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The Battle of Brightlingsea was a spontaneous direct action by ordinary residents of a town who were supporting live animals from being exported for slaughter. In the early 1990's the anger of animal rights campaigners was growing at the apathy of politicians to ban live animal exports from ports around Britain. Patience was running out and in 1995 the Battle of Brightlingsea sparked similar demonstrations around the country. Brightlingsea is a small town on Britain's North Sea coast.

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A transporter convoy loaded three tiers high with sheep. It negotiates the narrow streets of Brightlingsea to reach the nearby port. Some local residents turned out spontaneously to obstruct the trucks. Their gesture developed into an almost daily battle lasting nine months, the Battle of Brightlingsea. The police (in yellow jackets) turned out in force to protect the convoys.

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Among the demonstrators were ordinary workers, housewives, school children and grannies, who had never been on a protest before. Later, protesters were drawn in from far away. On some days up to 2,000 people lined the streets heckling and shaking their fists at theies to stretch out of a hatch left open in another transporter.

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People voiced fears for safety as protesters, police and transports weave about in the narrow Brightlingsea streets. During the protest animal rights activists carried out demonstrations at other ports around Britain. At one action campaigner Jill Phipps (1964 - 1995) was crushed to death under a truck she tried to hinder.

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Sheep crowded in a transporter.

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A horse tries to stretch out of a hatch left open in another transporter.

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The police forced back protesters who tried to get in the way and arrested many people, even passers-by.

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Demonstrators lit candles in the road next to the transports at twilight. During the nine month Battle of Brightlingsea 250,000 animals were exported through the town and 52 sheep died at the port. The Red Cross treated more than 100 casualties. The police made nearly 600 arrests. The Brightlingsea protesters did not succeed in stopping a single one of the 150 or so transporter convoys. But the cost of policing and exporting the animals in the face of active protest was too expensive and ceased.

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