Live Animal Export Protest In Britain - by Juliet Maxam ------------------------------------- THIS year the small Essex town of Brightlingsea has become famous. On January 16 the once sleepy riverside town became a centre for live animal exports. The world's Press made its way to the town, and images of pensioners, mothers and children clashing with police were beamed around the world on television screens, in newspapers and magazines. The first week of protests saw hopes raised and dashed, promises made and broken, the seeds of disillusionment sewn, and bitter confrontation. And all of it was captured in print, on video and radio. On the third day Essex Police deployed in riot gear - hard helmets with visors, protective shin, arm and body pads, gauntlets and boots. Astonished protesters, largely locals, mainly pensioners and middle class women with children were physically removed from the path of the animal lorries. Police were quickly accused of heavy handed tactics. Hundreds of complaints were logged at Essex Police headquarters. The Police Complaints Authority was called in to supervise an investigation into police tactics during the first week, to be conducted by Commander Bernard Luckhurst of the Metropolitan Police. The findings of the investigation were revealed last month. Commander Luckhurst blamed the Press for the breakdown in relations between Essex Police and the Brightlingsea protesters. He said some video producers were willing to manipulate available material and there was evidence of "extremely subtle editing". My newspaper, the East Anglian Daily Times, was criticised for using a photograph of a policeman with his foot raised above a protester sitting in the road. Mr Luckhurst said subsequent photographs clearly showed the policeman was stepping over protesters. Commentary on GMTV describing a photograph used in The Guardian as portraying a sole protester surrounded by police was also attacked. Justifying his tirade against the media in what was supposed to be an investigation into police tactics, Mr Luckhurst said that most complaints received by Essex Police were from people who had not been at the demonstrations, but had seen them on television or in newspapers. He did concede that some police officers had been a "little too zealous" and that officers on the ground should have acted sooner to deal with problems such as constables not displaying their numbers and covering their faces with balaclavas. I have been reporting the demonstrations in Brightlingsea since day one. Nine months later, the protests still continue, once a day, five days a week, as long as there is a shipment. Nine months later I am still there reporting the issue. Reporting the Brightlingsea demonstrations has been the most difficult, exciting, exasperating job I have faced in my three years as a reporter. Monday to Friday, once a day, for the last nine months, with only a few exceptions, a convoy of sheep and calves has been shipped from Brightlingsea. For every convoy there has been a demonstration - once or twice up to 2,000 people, often about 300, more usually nearer 100 protesters. The story has more twists and turns than a roller coaster. In January, wharf owner Ernest Oliver declared the wharf was for sale and the Town Council launched an appeal to buy it. In April, Assistant Chief Constable Geoffrey Markham sent a letter to everyone in Brightlingsea telling them he intended to use the Public Order Act to police the demonstrations, so Brightlingsea Against Live Exports disbanded rather than risk being jailed for organising the protests. In June, a group of "eco-cowboys" chained themselves to a beat-up old bus at the entrance to the wharf. In August, the livestock exporter behind the Brightlingsea trade, Roger Mills, issued writs against 14 protesters, and sought injunctions to stop them from protesting. Most recently, one of the Brightlingsea 14, Derrick Day, collapsed after venting his spleen at the meeting between the PCA and protesters and died later in hospital. Court cases abound, with defendants including Mr Markham, Mr Mills, various protesters, haulage companies and a Press photographer. Throughout the nine months of reporting Brightlingsea I have tried to sit firmly on the fence, but have been charged with bias by all three sides. I have been accused of not telling the truth - by protesters, of barefaced lies - by the exporter, and of fuelling the protests - by the police. I feel like piggy in the middle, a feeling the police claim for themselves, although they use different terminology. All three sides want to use me to bolster their image and cause. Accounts of anything in the least bit controversial or damaging to one of the sides inevitably leads to complaints. After Pc Pat Lane was taken to hospital with a puncture wound following a demonstration in August, I was harangued for days afterwards by protesters complaining because I reported that Pc Lane had been stabbed. I was even advised by my news editor not to show my face in Brightlingsea for a few days. Each tip off and fact has to be carefully checked, not only with the three main players, but with Essex County Council trading standards department and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Some of the rumours I have tried to stand up seem ridiculous now, but it would have been a good story if a convoy of sheep had been radioactive, or a dead sheep had been thrown off the livestock ship and washed up at Frinton. It would have been excellent to meet an ex-Beatle if the rumour about Paul McCartney visiting the protesters had actually been true. Once I even hung around waiting for Jurgen Klinsman, who was also supposed to be on his way to offer his support to protesters. One late night phone call led to a wild goose chase around the Essex countryside looking for sheep lorries allegedly parked in a lay-by - we found them, unloaded, at a lairage. I have learned some amazing facts during the continuing saga. Did you know, for instance, that sheep do not get seasick because they have two stomachs? A Belgian ministry of agriculture vet told me that while I was waiting for the Brightlingsea livestock ship, MV Caroline, to dock at Nieuwpoort, Belgium, in freezing rain and wind. And I have been put off salami for life after a protester told me some countries in Europe make it out of donkey meat. Physically, reporting demonstrations has been difficult. For the first few days I was getting down to Brightlingsea by 6.30am and not getting home until 11pm. In three seasons I have had to contend with icy winds, rain, hot sun and a plague of thunder bugs, while jotting notes in my pad. In addition, I have had to avoid getting arrested and crushed. Skills I can now boast include judging crowd numbers, knowing where the action will be and avoiding being trapped behind a police line. During the last nine months, my patience has been tested to extremes. I have had to endure hysterical protesters heckling me in the heat of a demonstration, snide comments and abuse from all sides, and have even been blamed for the continuing protests by residents of Brightlingsea not involved in the issue. But I was undoubtedly pushed closest to breaking point when Commander Luckhurst blamed the media for damaging the relations between police and protesters - to me that was the most unfair accusation of the whole nine months. I am proud of the job I have done in Brightlingsea. It has been tough and frustrating. At times it has been exhilarating, at times it has been tedious. It has been a lesson in using the power of the Press responsibly.