Hauliers who export live animals face a new threat of
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violence. Pat Hagan reports on a sector of the industry where publicity is the last thing operators need.
Imagine running a business where advertising your services invites the threat of attacks on your life. Or where free publicity is to be shunned at all times for fear of exposing your staff to unprovoked violence.
For most general haulage companies, the promotion of their expertise in today's competitive market is as vital to their success as long hours and quality service. Many would not be able to survive without it.
But for a small number of firms that have built their reputations on the transport of live animals, a high profile is the last thing they want or need. This is a small outpost of the haulage industry which, for the past three years, has been laid to siege by the constant fear of attacks by activists claiming to represent animal liberation groups.
Until a few weeks ago, the worst of the friction between livestock hauliers and animal rights groups was thought to be over. Tales of trucks running the gauntlet of angry protesters at some ports regularly made the headlines during 1995, when hauliers first became a major target for activists alleging the ill-treatment of live animals for export. But while the problem has not gone away it has failed to sustain the interest of the media.
Fighting
All that changed last month when truck driver Steven Granger was left fighting for his life after his cab was struck by a rock hurled from a bridge over the A2 just outside Dover (CM 24-30 September). Three people have been arrested following the attack.
Granger suffered a fractured skull, a collapsed lung and a broken ankle. Unconfirmed reports of the accident suggest the driver, from Deal in Kent—who has never carried livestock—struggled to control the truck as it careered across the other carriageway and plunged down an embankment The rock, allegedly thrown by animal rights protesters, was intended for a small convoy of trucks carrying livestock under police escort towards Dover Docks— the opposite direction. It is thought the missile may have ricocheted off something and accidentally hit Granger's truck.
r 1 I -.71 Although the attack triggered widespread condemnation, there will inevitably he some ani
mal rights extremists who will see Granger's injuries as a price worth paying for the publicity gained for the cause. According to some reports, protesters were back on the bridge—a favourite spot for attacking livestock trucks— less than 24 hours after the attack.
But if there was shock and outrage among mainstream hauliers and the public, there was a sense of resignation among the small number of livestock transporters still in existence.
These companies have become used to living in a climate of fear, where routine vehicle checks are as likely to include looking for explosive devices as inspecting the tyres.
As a result, many shy away from revealing even the most basic details about their business. But one who is prepared to speak is Peter Gilder, a livestock haulier from Bourton-onthe-Water, Gloucestershire. His business has been ravaged by the effects of three years of protests, with his fleet scaled back from 27 trucks to just three and 18 drivers laid off.
Despite this, he is adamant that it is not viable to switch entirely to another area of haulage, although the company has been forced to diversify "The art of livestock haulage is something you are born with—you don't come into it overnight."
Gilder believes genuine animal rights campaigners are not to blame but a hard core of militants. And he is struck by the irony that, had the missile that injured Steven Granger hit its intended target, there is every possibility the animals that campaigners were supposedly seeking to protect could have been hurt.
"Had that rock gone through the top of the vehicle it would have damaged the animals. There can be no point in that," he says, According to Gilder, the strong public pressure which prompted some major ferry operators to ban shipments of live animals for export was the worst thing that could have happened to the industry He believes it made protesters' jobs easier by concentrating exports through a small number of ports. Dover, with a regular flow of trucks carrying animals every week, has become a major target. As a result, livestock truck drivers regularly form convoys under police escort for their own safety.
"My own son was with a driver of a livestock truck in Dover a couple of years ago when the vehicle was attacked. Protesters tried to drag him out through the passenger door. The case went to court and one protester was bound over to keep the peace."
Another livestock haulier had a bomb planted on its premises earlier this year, allegedly by animal rights extremists.
After 60 years in the business, a spokeswoman said the company is not about to give up, especially as it is situated deep in the heart of a rural community where livestock farming is one of the main breadwinners, "Our business has been affected but you have to keep going. You cannot let them win and you cannot let your customers down," she says.
The company insists it makes sure it complies with all regulations on animal welfare and says all its drivers are currently obtaining National Vocational Qualifications in the handling of live animals—over and above the required certificate of competence.
Diligence
Such diligence costs significant amounts of money and does not appear to have lessened the risk of attacks. The personal safety of drivers is therefore given the highest priority.
"We have issued all our drivers with instructions on how to check the safety of their vehicles," the spokesman says.
Kent County Constabulary has been policing the problem at Dover for three-and-a-halfyears and, according to spokesman Mark Pugash, is proud of the fact that there have been "no serious injuries" in that time—until the case of Steven Granger. And he defends the police record in protecting drivers against violent activists. "It's an enormous drain on our resources but there have been a lot of prosecutions for breaches of the peace," he says.
Pugash concedes that the latest attack is probably "the most serious" to date but is reluctant to speculate on whether it marks a new impetus in animal rights activity. Like some hauliers, he believes genuine campaigners will be "appalled" by what happened to Steven Granger. "We have a large number of officers investigating this. It is a very exceptional case and we have not seen this level of violence before but it would be dangerous to say it indicates a new trend."
But Pugash's optimistic view is not shared by Ian Jameson, manager at Dover-based Geoff Hart Transport, which employs Granger. Despite the attack, he fears there is little the company can do to advise its other drivers on avoiding similar attacks. "What advice can you give? That attack took place at 9.50pm and you would not be able to see anyone standing on that bridge at that time. I can see it happening again."