A slew of e-mails has arrived over the last couple of days celebrating this massive win for animals in the UK. World Horse Welfare were first, describing it as a historic milestone and a monumental victory (they have been campaigning for this for over a century). PETA and others were not far behind. I couldn’t be more pleased and hate to cavil, but I have seen no mention of Jill Phipps, after whom this ruling should surely be named. She was the English animal rights activist who gave her life for the cause in 1995. Wikipedia elaborates: “The use of Coventry airport for export of veal calves horrified her, and in January 1995 she walked almost 100 miles from Coventry to Westminster to protest. On her 31st birthday she protested outside the home of the man who who ran Phoenix Aviation, the firm that operated the exports from Coventry airport.” Protestors had broken through police lines and were attempting to block the progress of the lorries. Jill Phipps ran towards one lorry, climbed onto a front wing, slipped under the wheels and, tragically, was crushed. The death was recorded as accidental – one’s heart goes out to the driver too, in spite of the business he was enabling.
Leave a Reply