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Coventry
Animal Alliance
Demo
in 1982 at the now closed down Cocksparrow farm
one of the first demos that Jill attended
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Back
in 1982, Cocksparrow Fox Farm at Lea Marston, Warwickshire, bred
beautiful silver-blue arctic foxes for the fur trade. About 1,500
foxes lived in tiny, filthy cages suffering extreme stress and frustration.
Their only release was death, which came by lethal injection before
being skinned.
Coventry
Animal Alliance was formed with the intention of closing down
this animal hellhole and every weekend protesters would hold protests
and all night vigils outside the farm. A National Demo was organised
and posters were displayed around Coventry. It was one of these
posters that got the Phipps family involved in the campaign. A coach
took people from Coventry, they joined around 600 others who swamped
the farm and the police were totally outnumbered. It was absolute
mayhem, windows were smashed and people climbed over the fences
into the compound. The coverage by the TV and local newspapers was
terrific!
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Animal rights protestors ... early 80's style
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In
January 1984, over 500 police were on duty to stop any repercussion
of previous damage as 2,000 protesters gathered at the farm. Police
ensured that protesters didn`t stray off the public footpath that
bordered the fox compound but 25 people were arrested for breach of
the peace and obstruction. Protesters encircled the farm for over
2 hours, there were several minor scuffles but no one was hurt. Police
on duty included 18 mounted officers and dog handlers. Warwickshire
Police said the cost of the operation would run into tens of thousands
of pounds! A protest organiser said "We hope that we are bringing
pressure to bear in order to get these animals released."
Soon
after, the Animal
Liberation Front (ALF) raided the farm and rescued over 200
foxes!! That was the end for Cocksparrow Fox Farm but not Coventry
Animal Alliance, which went from strength to strength and were one
of the most active groups in the country, on demos, hunt sabbing and
no doubt some direct action!! Jill Phipps and various members of her
family continued to be amongst the most active members.
Jill
at a fur protest |
Jill
and friend at the same protest |
The picture below shows Jill and 2 friends doing a leaflet stall in
Coventry. The Coventy Animal Alliance stalls became a fixture in Coventry
town centre, with at least one being held every week for many years
... a tradition which still continues ... spreading the word of animal
liberation and attracting new members to the Alliance. At one point,
the Coventry group joined forces with Northampton, Leicester and Leamington
to form a Midlands coalition.
The infamous Coventry Animal Alliance stall in the early 90's
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By
the time Barrett Jolley decided to cash in on the live export trade
in November 94, most of the original founder members of Coventry Animal
Alliance had moved away, but many others had come along to take their
place ... some people even moved to Coventry because of the reputation
it had earned as an animal rights hotspot.
Jill
and fellow protestors outside Baginton airport
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Jill and her mother Nancy were amongst the most regular protesters
at the airport where there were often in excess of 50 people attending
the daily weekday protests.
Jill
and Nancy ... comrades in arms |
Coventry veal flights came to an end in May 1995 after a massive struggle,
but Coventry protesters were intent on helping other groups end the
animal export misery at ports round the country. Regular coach trips
were made to demos at Shoreham, Brightlingsea, Dover etc.
The regular campaign meetings in Coventry would attract upto 150 people!
Campaigners from Coventry became very well known around the country,
and were referred to as "the Cov lot" or "the Coventry
crew". Their well deserved reputation went ahead of them and
Police around the country were dismayed when they learnt that the
"Coventry Crew" would be joining a demo!!
Midlands protestors celebrate the closure of Consort
with beagles saved from a short hellish life in vivisection
labs |
In
more recent years, campaigns against the vivisection industry have
become the focus for Coventry Animal Alliance and the animal rights
movement as a whole. Regular coach trips were made to protests at
Consort Kennels in Herefordshire which bred beagles for experiments.
After an intense 10 month campaign, Consort was closed down in July
1997 and 200 beagles were successfully rehomed.
The focus turned to Hillgrove cat farm near Oxford. Once again the
cats were bred for animal testing and several huge national demos
took place there, involving up to 2,000 people! After 18 months,
Hillgrove could take no more and was forced to close down! The 800
cats imprisoned there, were rehomed in August 1999.
Into the new millenium and successes kept coming with Coventry Animal
Alliance members also helping to close Shamrock Farm (where they
imported wild caught monkeys for vivisection), Newchurch Guinea
pig farm (a breeder of guinea pigs for vivisection) and Regal Rabbits
(a breeder of rabbits for vivisection). Recently they also prevented
a greyhound stadium being built in Liverpool and another in Coventry.
Other
members of the Coventry Animal Alliance who had left Coventry over
the years, continued to be active wherever they were and spread
the ethos of the group throughout the UK and far beyond. It is not
overstating the case to say Coventry Animal Alliance has been, and
continues to be one, of the most influential local animal rights
groups ever.
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Get
involved with our protests, stalls and meetings
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Coventry
Animal Alliance today is a smaller group than it used to be. Despite
this, the group is still very active in a wide variety of campaigns
both local and around the country. Everything from exotic pet markets
to circuses and the meat industry to the fur trade. We also promote
the veggie/vegan diets as the best way anyone can help animals whilst
also improving their health and helping to save the planet at the
same time! Coach and minibus transport is organised to all kinds of
events.
CAGE
protestors outside Brandon greyhound stadium 2006 |
In
recent years, we have become increasingly active in the campaign to
abolish greyhound racing and had a major success preventing a new
greyhound stadium being built in Coventry. We hold a regular weekly
protests outside Brandon Greyhound Stadium on Saturday evenings. We
call on the general public to boycott the stadium and all greyhound
racing due to the huge amount of dogs that suffer and die each year,
when their racing days are over!! Please join us from 6.30pm at the
entrance to the stadium. For more info please contact us(details below)
or see http://www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/CAGE.html
Our monthly meetings normally attract 20+ people and we welcome new
faces. Whether you live in Coventry or elsewhere in the region, please
come along and get involved. We meet on the 3rd Wednesday of every
month at the Friends Meeting House, Hill Street, Coventry. Follow
signs for The Belgrade Theatre. The meetings start at 7.30pm prompt
and normally last for 2 hours, so don`t worry if you can`t make the
start.
Unfortunately,
time does not allow us to update this site regularly. If you want
to see a list of forthcoming events for Coventry and elsewhere in
the West Midlands and also news re animal issues, please take a
look at the West
Midlands Animal Action website.
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Click above to visit
the
Vegan Society website: |
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