Jill Phipps
Encyclopedia
Jill Phipps was a British
animal rights
activist
who was crushed to death in Baginton
, Warwickshire
, England by a lorry transporting live veal
calves heading for continental Europe via Coventry Airport
.
(her father was a postman
). She had become interested in caring for animals when young, and joined her mother's campaigning against the fur trade from the age of 11. After herself becoming a vegetarian, Phipps persuaded the rest of her family to join them. By her late teens she joined the Eastern Animal Liberation League, a group affiliated to the Animal Liberation Front
. A local campaign in Coventry
supported by Phipps and her mother succeeded in closing down a local fur shop and fur farm. In 1986, together with her mother and sister, Phipps raided the Port Sunlight
factory of soap
manufacturers Unilever
to protest at their use of animal testing. After smashing computer equipment, the group were caught and prosecuted, with Phipps' mother being sentenced to six months' imprisonment and her sister to eighteen months. Phipps herself received a suspended sentence as she was pregnant.
After her son was born, Phipps spent more time caring for him (having divorced her husband, she raised him as a single parent). She attended occasional demonstrations and hunt sabotage meetings during school holidays together with her son. The use of Coventry airport for export of veal calves horrified her, and in January 1995 she walked from Coventry to Westminster to protest; on her 31st birthday she protested outside the home of the businessman who had organised the trade.
in Baginton
, protesting at the export of live calves to Amsterdam
for distribution across Europe. Ten protesters broke through police lines and were trying to bring the lorry to a halt by sitting in the road or chaining themselves to it when Phipps was crushed beneath the lorry's wheels; her fatal injuries included a broken spine. Phipps' death received a large amount of publicity, being brought up at Prime Minister's question time in the House of Commons
.
The Crown Prosecution Service
decided there was not enough evidence to bring any charges against the driver. Phipps' family blamed the police for her death, because the police appeared determined to keep the convoy of lorries moving despite the protest. The inquest heard that the driver may have been distracted by a protester running into the road ahead of him, who was being removed by a policeman. The policeman in charge of the protest speculated that Phipps had chosen "deliberately [to] fall" under the wheels of the truck, but Phipps' father insisted that she did not want to die as she had a young son to live for.
The continuing level of protest was such that several local councils and a harbour board banned live exports from their localities. All live exports of calves later stopped due to fears of BSE
infection. In 2006 this ban was lifted, but Coventry Airport pledged that it would refuse requests to fly veal calves.
animal rights
groups around 1 February each year.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
who was crushed to death in Baginton
Baginton
Baginton is a village and civil parish in the Warwick district of Warwickshire, England, and has a common border with the City of Coventry of the West Midlands county. With a population of 801 , Baginton village is four miles south of Coventry city centre and seven miles north of...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, England by a lorry transporting live veal
Veal
Veal is the meat of young cattle , as opposed to meat from older cattle. Though veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds...
calves heading for continental Europe via Coventry Airport
Coventry Airport
Coventry Airport is located south southeast of Coventry city centre, in the village of Baginton, Warwickshire, England, and about outside Coventry boundaries...
.
Background
Phipps did well at school but chose not to stay on after the age of 16; she went to work for the Royal MailRoyal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
(her father was a postman
Mail carrier
A mail carrier, mailman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman , postman/postwoman , letter carrier or postie is an employee of the post office or postal service, who delivers mail and parcel post to residences and businesses...
). She had become interested in caring for animals when young, and joined her mother's campaigning against the fur trade from the age of 11. After herself becoming a vegetarian, Phipps persuaded the rest of her family to join them. By her late teens she joined the Eastern Animal Liberation League, a group affiliated to the Animal Liberation Front
Animal Liberation Front
The Animal Liberation Front is an international, underground leaderless resistance that engages in illegal direct action in pursuit of animal liberation...
. A local campaign in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
supported by Phipps and her mother succeeded in closing down a local fur shop and fur farm. In 1986, together with her mother and sister, Phipps raided the Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
factory of soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
manufacturers Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
to protest at their use of animal testing. After smashing computer equipment, the group were caught and prosecuted, with Phipps' mother being sentenced to six months' imprisonment and her sister to eighteen months. Phipps herself received a suspended sentence as she was pregnant.
After her son was born, Phipps spent more time caring for him (having divorced her husband, she raised him as a single parent). She attended occasional demonstrations and hunt sabotage meetings during school holidays together with her son. The use of Coventry airport for export of veal calves horrified her, and in January 1995 she walked from Coventry to Westminster to protest; on her 31st birthday she protested outside the home of the businessman who had organised the trade.
Fatal accident
On 1 February 1995, Phipps was one of 35 protesters at Coventry AirportCoventry Airport
Coventry Airport is located south southeast of Coventry city centre, in the village of Baginton, Warwickshire, England, and about outside Coventry boundaries...
in Baginton
Baginton
Baginton is a village and civil parish in the Warwick district of Warwickshire, England, and has a common border with the City of Coventry of the West Midlands county. With a population of 801 , Baginton village is four miles south of Coventry city centre and seven miles north of...
, protesting at the export of live calves to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
for distribution across Europe. Ten protesters broke through police lines and were trying to bring the lorry to a halt by sitting in the road or chaining themselves to it when Phipps was crushed beneath the lorry's wheels; her fatal injuries included a broken spine. Phipps' death received a large amount of publicity, being brought up at Prime Minister's question time in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
.
The Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
decided there was not enough evidence to bring any charges against the driver. Phipps' family blamed the police for her death, because the police appeared determined to keep the convoy of lorries moving despite the protest. The inquest heard that the driver may have been distracted by a protester running into the road ahead of him, who was being removed by a policeman. The policeman in charge of the protest speculated that Phipps had chosen "deliberately [to] fall" under the wheels of the truck, but Phipps' father insisted that she did not want to die as she had a young son to live for.
Aftermath
Veal calf exports from Coventry Airport ended months later, when the aviation firm belonging to the pilot responsible for the veal flights, Christopher Barrett-Jolly, went bankrupt following accusations of running guns from Slovakia to Sudan in breach of EU rules. In 2006 he was charged with smuggling 271 kg of cocaine from Jamaica into Southend airport.The continuing level of protest was such that several local councils and a harbour board banned live exports from their localities. All live exports of calves later stopped due to fears of BSE
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 30 months to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of...
infection. In 2006 this ban was lifted, but Coventry Airport pledged that it would refuse requests to fly veal calves.
Memorial
Jill's Film, with footage of Phipps, the Coventry live export campaign, the funeral, and interviews with Phipps' family was produced and shown for the first time at the Jill's Day 2005 event in Coventry. Memorial events are held by grassrootsGrassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
groups around 1 February each year.