page_title: Battle of Brightlingsea
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Brightlingsea
caption_attribution_description: English: Protesters block the road to stop the export lorries gaining access to the port. Image David Johnson
context_page_description: The Battle of Brightlingsea refers to a series of protests held in Brightlingsea, England, between 16 January and 30 October 1995, to prevent the export of livestock through the town. During this time period, early 1990s, this action had been talked and argued about among individuals. The name was first used by the media in The Independent newspaper, after Essex Police used riot control measures against demonstrators.
  By 1995, members of the public had become increasingly concerned about the conditions in which animals were reared, transported and slaughtered. Some examples of the animals that were being exported were cattle, veal calves, and sheep. Exporters had been forced to use small ports such as Brightlingsea to transport livestock after the country's three main ferry operators introduced bans on live cargo. This followed mounting public pressure about the suffering of sheep and cattle packed into huge transport vehicles for excessive periods. There were 2 organizations that were trying to help this cause. The first one was Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty and the second was Compassion in World Farming.
context_section_description: The Battle of Brightlingsea refers to a series of protests held in Brightlingsea, England, between 16 January and 30 October 1995, to prevent the export of livestock through the town.   During this time period, early 1990s, this action had been talked and argued about among individuals.  The name was first used by the media in The Independent newspaper, after Essex Police used riot control measures against demonstrators.
  By 1995, members of the public had become increasingly concerned about the conditions in which animals were reared, transported and slaughtered.   Some examples of the animals that were being exported were cattle, veal calves, and sheep. Exporters had been forced to use small ports such as Brightlingsea to transport livestock after the country's three main ferry operators introduced bans on live cargo. This followed mounting public pressure about the suffering of sheep and cattle packed into huge transport vehicles for excessive periods.  There were 2 organizations that were trying to help this cause.  The first one was Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty and the second was Compassion in World Farming.  They used different tactics to stop this issue, which eventually ended up working. In result however, the transportation of the cattle was sent through Brightingsea. The two largest campaign groups, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and the RSPCA, had called for a ban on all live exports by limiting journeys to eight hours. European regulations allowed for journeys of up to 24 hours without food or water.
  The demonstrations, which were composed largely of local residents, ended on 30 October, when exporters announced they would no longer transport animals through the town because of the extra cost and chaos caused by the daily protests. In practice, the export of live animals continued from other ports, halting only in February 1996 when the European Union banned live exports from Britain over fears of "mad cow disease" entering the European food chain. The ban was lifted in 2006.
caption: Protesters blocking the road to Brightlingsea wharf in 1995.
exif: {}