QCA Patron, Nitin Mehta, Thom Bonneville & Judith Wilkings, QCA Members, joined the march on July 3rd. against live exports organised by Compassion in World Farming .
We gathered outside Lincoln’s Inn Gardens at 11.30 a.m., where a CIWF speaker explained that exports of calves had been cut by 90% and the march was focusing on live exports of sheep leaving UK ports. The march started at 11.45am and approximately 200 people, some wearing sheep and calf masks, equipped with placards, leaflets, megaphones and loud voices joined in the demonstration which made its way along Kingsway, across Waterloo Bridge, through the Southbank and over Westminster Bridge to the Houses of Parliament.
There was a photo-call for the press at College Green outside Westminster. Neil Parish MP met us and accepted a giant postcard on behalf of DEFRA which read:
DEFRA
HAVE COURAGE
STAND UP
FOR SHEEP
RSPCA KAALE
Neil Parish MP spoke to us and agreed to hand deliver the giant postcard to the Agriculture Minister. Mark Pritchard MP joined him and pledged his support to end live exports.
We were given mini versions of the postcard at the start of the March to sign and after leaving College Green we marched for a further five minutes to hand deliver our individual postcards to a representative from DEFRA. The march ended at 2pm.
~ Judith Wilkings, Member of QCA and Muswell Hill Meeting.