A woman protester, Jill Phipps, was killed last night by a cattle lorry at Coventry airport. Circumstances of this tragic accident are still unclear at the time of going to press. I am sure that all of us at Shoreham would wish to express our deepest sympathy to her family, friends and fellow protesters. She will be remembered.
Adur District Council yesterday served an injunction on Shoreham Port Authority, ordering the port to call a halt to the current livestock exports on the grounds that the port is in breach of planning regulations. The port must stop the exports within 72 hours or face legal action.
As we go to press on the morning of Thursday 2nd Feb, we have just
heard that Philip Lacey, General Manager of Shoreham Port Authority, has
announced that he is to resign. He leaves his job at the end of the month.
The Protester says: Good riddance, Lacey - on yer bike!
[Late-breaking news: following Lacey's resignation and the above-mentioned
injunction, shipments have been suspended for 5 days.]
The Shoreham Protester is an independent publication, and is not affiliated in any way to any group or organisation. Its aim is to promote non-violent lawful protest in order to bring to an end the transportation of live animals through the port of Shoreham.
All information is published in good faith, but we can not be held responsible for errors or omissions. Please bring any mistakes or misinformation to the attention of the editor and they will be rectified in future editions.
Welcome to the first edition of the Shoreham Protester. This newspaper is dedicated to the protesters at Shoreham who are peacefully trying to register their objections to the evil trade in live animals currently being conducted through the port of Shoreh am. We will be distributing the Protester both at the protests and at key points in Brighton, such as vegetarian shops and other sympathetic organisations and groups. No one knows how much longer we will have to maintain our presence at Shoreham before th is inhumane trade is ended, but until that time we all need information. We all need to know the latest developments, we need the tide times, useful names and addresses, legal advice, creative ideas, and we need something to keep our spirits up. So if you have any information, ideas, poems, cartoons, jokes, or anything else which you'd like to share with your fellow protesters and sympathisers then please, please, please send it to the editor for publication.
If you are reading this and are sympathetic to the campaign against live exports but have not yet been down to Shoreham to join in the protests, then please consider joining us. The more people who can turn out to register their protest, the more policing that is required, and the greater the pressure on the port to end the trade. It doesn't matter if you can only turn out once in a while, or if of you can only stay for an hour or two - every little helps. The protesters are a very friendly bunch, from al l walks of life, of all ages, shapes and sizes, and you are guaranteed a warm welcome, whatever the weather. Please don't be put off by media coverage of 'violence' at the protests - there are very few incidents and it is easy to avoid any trouble - it's certainly a lot safer than attending a football match!
A few words of advice if you're thinking of visiting for the first time: wrap up warm (plenty of layers, gloves, hat, thick socks and thick-soled shoes), make a placard if you can, and bring something to drink (the editor likes a nip of brandy, but is rel iably informed that a thermos flask of coffee works nearly as well). Bring the kids, the dogs, granny, the in-laws and the neighbours - the more the merrier. See you there...
If you should be unfortunate enough to be arrested (e.g. for the heinous crime of sitting in the road!) it is important that you know your rights. Our legal expert writes:
On being brought to a police station the police are obliged to tell you what rights you have.
It is the responsibility of the custody officer to inform any person who has been arrested that they are entitled to:
All persons in custody must be dealt with expeditiously, and released as soon as the need for detention has ceased to apply, however a failure by a person to give their name and address enables the police to detain that person for longer.
Work is continuing on the 'Roll On Roll Off' (RORO) ramp in the outer harbour. If this is completed then in theory animal exports could take place at any time of day, using larger ships. If the Port Authority really want to end animal exports then they must either abandon plans to install the ramp, or make a commitment not to allow the ramp to be used for animal exports. Failing this, it can only be assumed that live exports will escalate once the ramp is ready for use. Obviously this is bad news, not only because of the increase in the cruel trade, but also because it will be more difficult to organise effective protests when the ships are no longer limited to plying their evil trade at high tides. The ramp is expected to be ready for operation by May 1995.
The media are our friends. We need as much positive publicity as we can get. For a good example of how the media can be used to get a message across, look at any of the major Greenpeace publicity stunts over the years. For a sad example of how a negative media image can destroy an organisation, look at the Green Party.
To date, we have had very good coverage from the likes of BBC South, The Independent and The Evening Argus, but unfortunately the media has a short attention span and easily becomes bored with an issue. In order to keep Shoreham in the news we need a constant supply of new 'angles' and images. Anything which makes a good photograph or 'sound bite' can make the difference between getting some coverage and being ignored. Fancy dress, musical instruments, banners, placards, wreaths, unicycles, clowns, jugglers, animals, children - anything which will catch the jaded reporter's eye (or ear!). Please think about what you can bring with you on your next visit to Shoreham to help make things more interesting for our friends from the media.
Every campaign needs good slogans, whether you're an advertising executive trying to sell toothpaste or a conscientious protester at Shoreham trying to stop the suffering of live animal exports. We need slogans for banners, slogans for shouting and slogans for the media. We haven't got any prizes to offer, but we'd like to hold a competition for the best slogans for the Shoreham protests. Some of the editor's favourites so far are: "Shame On You" (understatement at its best!), "Veal Meat Again", and, next to a picture of Lacey: "He Even Looks Like Goebbels!". Send your entries to the editor and we'll list them in the next issue (and maybe even pick a 'winner')...
Our economics correspondent informs us that the single biggest factor in the Port Authority's decision not to renew ITF's contract was the effect of the protests on other users of the port. While these other users are innocent victims of the current situation, and for the most part support the ending of live animal export though the port, our most effective weapon would appear to be disruption of normal port trade. What do people feel about this ? Should we be trying to block the entrance to the harbour at random times during the day ? Is this fair on the other port users and will it alienate them from our cause ? It would certainly mean that more policing would be required, but since it is illegal to block the road then it could also presumably mean more arrests?
Rumour has it that both the local council and the residents of the smart white houses on the beach are very upset about the new high security fence being erected along the road into the harbour, and that one or more writs may be served very soon.
Sheep When I was once in Baltimore, A man came up to me and cried, 'Come, I have eighteen hundred sheep, And we will sail on Tuesday's tide. 'If you will sail with me, young man, I'll pay you fifty shillings down; These eighteen hundred sheep I take From Baltimore to Glasgow town.' He paid me fifty shillings down, I sailed with eighteen hundred sheep; We soon had cleared the harbour's mouth, We soon were in the salt sea deep. The first night we were out at sea Those sheep were quiet in their mind; The second night they cried with fear - They smelt no pastures in the wind. They sniffed poor things, for their green fields, They cried so loud I could not sleep; For fifty thousand shillings down I would not sail again with sheep. William Henry Davies 1871 - 1940
It's important not to lose one's sense of humour in these troubled times. Please send in any topical jokes for printing in future issues of the Protester. The editor is not noted for his originality or sense of humour, but here is a token offering in the hope that this will make someone cringe enough to want to do better:
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road ? A: Because it was being helpfully escorted across by 15 Met officers in riot gear !
Thu 2nd Feb 7:30 pm "Southern Eye" BBC2 - half hour program about the protests.
Sat 4th Feb 7 pm Public meeting at Shoreham Community Centre.
Sat 25th Feb 8 pm Benefit gig at the Barn Theatre, Southwick Street, Southwick. Starring Jo Brand, Attila the Stockbroker and special guests. Tickets #5 from the box office on 0273 597094. Proceeds to help protesters arrested at Shoreham..
Every Tuesday Meeting of the Port Authority (what time does this start ?).
That nice man Mr. Waldegrave has suggested that our protests are misguided and that we should instead be protesting to the EC. OK - let's do it - here is the person to write to or telephone:
Mr Lars Christian Hoelgaard Directorate B2 Directorate General VI Commission of the European Community Rue de la Loi, 200 1049, Brussels Belgium Tel: 010 322 299 41
Send a copy of your letter to his boss, The Commissioner Responsible for Agricultural Matters, Mr Guy Legras, at the same address.
And just for good measure, we should all write to or telephone our UK representative on the Council of Ministers in Brussels:
Sir John Kerr UK REP 6 Rond-Poist Schuman 1040, Brussels Belgium Tel: 010 322 230 6205.
Here are the high tide times for the next few days. As seasoned protesters will already know, the Northern Cruiser can sail up to two hours either side of a high tide, and lorries will usually arrive an hour or so before the ship sails. Currently shipments seem to be taking place only during daylight (it helps to keep the policing costs down, apparently), although night time shipments are still possible.
Thu 2nd Feb 00:41 12:59 Fri 3rd Feb 01:21 13:37 Sat 4th Feb 01:57 14:12 Sun 5th Feb 02:31 14:45 Mon 6th Feb 03:02 15:19 Tue 7th Feb 03:35 16:01 Wed 8th Feb 04:23 17:07 Thu 9th Feb 05:41 18:23 Fri 10th Feb 06:52 19:31 Sat 11th Feb 07:57 20:34 Sun 12th Feb 08:54 21:26
NB: Tide times for Shoreham can always be found in the Evening Argus, on page 2.
A recorded message giving weather information and time times. Tel: 0273 381023.
Until the Protester can find a permanent home, a sympathiser has kindly agreed to act as a contact - please send all articles, feedback, suggestions, comments, etc to the following address:
Tel: 0273 203184, fax: 0273 822106, e-mail: prussell@cix.compulink.co.uk