Animal Rebellion

31/08/21 – 22PM

BREAKING : POLICE DENY BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS AT ARLA BLOCKADE

• UK’s largest dairy factory shut down for more than 19 hours
• Police have denied the protesters’ basic rights such as food, shelter and medications
• Over 350 arrests have happened during the ‘Impossible Rebellion’ around London

During the early morning hours, 50 climate activists from Animal Rebellion began the blockade of an Arla factory, in Aylesbury. They are demanding the largest dairy producer in the UK to go plant-based by 2025 and to fund a just transition for its workers.

The first protesters were taken away around noon, as police cutting teams arrived on site and removed activists from one of the bamboo structures. All protestors were removed from blockades by 10:30pm after almost 20 hours. The group then camped at the site overnight.

30 protesters were locked-on to stop the production and distribution of dairy and expose the impact of dairies and the need to swiftly transition to plant based production. The protestors expressed that they intended to hold the blockade, until Arla responded to their demand. Non-violent demonstrators were prepared with tents and food; however, they report the police denied their basic rights. They began by separating the activists who were locked-on from supporters.

Animal Rebellion shared via Twitter, “At around 10am, police began erecting a cordon around lock-ons and are refusing to allow access to wellbeing to ‘rebels’ in the blockade.”

Police then further violated the rights of the protesters by taking away their food and shelter.

“They have stolen a sandwich from one of our locked-on rebels”, said social media posts from spokespeople, “And have now removed umbrellas and tarps off lock-ons and taped off the blockade from all supporters, including those providing first aid and wellbeing.”

Animal Rebellion says spirits are high despite heavy policing. These maneuvers follow the arrest of over 350 climate protesters in London during the ‘Impossible Rebellion’, including the raid of activists’ home and their posterior arrest on Sunday and the arrest of 36 people during the occupation of a Central McDonald’s last week.

LINK TO PHOTOS

The post Breaking: Police Deny Basic Human Rights At ARLA Blockade first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Animal Rebellion Press Release

31st 08 2021

CLIMATE ACTIVISTS BLOCKADE UK’S BIGGEST MILK FACTORY CALLING FOR AN END TO DAIRY

LINK TO PICTURE FILE

• 50 climate activists from Animal Rebellion have blockaded the largest dairy factory in the UK

• Arla supplies 10% of UK milk and 2.7 million litres a day

In the early hours of this morning, protestors occupied the distribution centre of Arla Foods, the multinational company who are one of the largest manufacturers of dairy in the world. 30 activists are locked onto bamboo structures and concrete barricades. The factory provides 10% of the milk supply for the UK with 150 vehicles delivering raw milk each day and 1.1 billion litres being produced every year. 

Animal Rebellion is a non-violent movement which has previously gained attention for using civil disobedience to demand that companies transition to a plant-based food system. They are calling on Arla to transition to plant-based production by 2025 to address the catastrophic impacts dairy production has on the climate and animals. Protestors have stated they plan to continue blockading the factory until Arla makes a commitment to end dairy production and fund a just transition for its workers. 

James Ozden, a spokesperson for Animal Rebellion, said about the blockade: “The recent IPCC report issued a code red warning on the impacts of the climate crisis. It spoke of a need for urgent action from our government to address carbon emissions, including methane which is in large part a byproduct of animal farming. Companies like Arla claim to be leading the way in tackling the climate crisis, yet until these big multinationals start to talk seriously about the inevitable need to transition our food system to one that is plant-based, their words are empty.” 

Thirteen of the world’s largest dairy corporations, including Arla, together emitted more greenhouse gases in 2017 than major polluters BHP and ConocoPhillips, mining and oil giants respectively. In the next decade, extreme weather is expected to lead to unstable crop supplies for the 2.65 million dairy cows in the UK while higher temperatures will mean that dairy cows are expected to be exposed to heat stress for two extra months in the year. The climate crisis means that supplying the demand for cows’ milk will soon be simply unviable.

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“The dairy industry abuses animals, the planet and workers, who are increasingly squeezed by big business”, said Ozden, “Arla say they’re pro-worker but lobby for supermarket contracts that sell milk for less than water. We’re not just demanding that Arla go plant-based by 2025, we’re demanding that the government supports companies like Arla by funding a just transition for workers in meat and dairy industries to just and sustainable alternatives.”

What’s NEXT

Animal Rebellion is demanding that Arla go plant-based by 2025 and support a just transition for its workers.

Animal Rebellion is a mass movement using nonviolent civil disobedience to call for a just, sustainable plant-based food system. Today’s events are part of the ‘Rebellion’ – two weeks of direct action demanding urgent action from the government on the climate and ecological emergency. 

Interview opportunities and photos

LINK TO PICTURE FILE

The post Climate Activists Blockade UK’s Biggest Milk Factory Calling For An End To Dairy first appeared on Animal Rebellion.