During the opening of the Platinum Jubilee weekend, Animal Rebellion disrupted the royal procession on Pall Mall. This comes after the group dyed the Buckingham Palace fountains red last August [3]. The group are urging for an immediate transition to a plant-based future and rewilding.

Beau King Houston, amongst those taking action, has said “The Royal family has had decades to lead the way on a just transition to plant-based farming and has failed to do so. This transition is common sense and simple, we all win. 76% of currently farmed land could be rewilded and absorb carbon from the atmosphere. This would restore nature, spare billions of animals, and present a solution to the climate emergency, all in one act.” [4]

This action comes as a response to Royal disregard for all life. Since Animal Rebellion last highlighted Crown complicity in the climate emergency, the necessary changes to Royal land have not happened. February’s IPCC report stated, “Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.” [5]

By refusing to make the necessary changes to Royal land, the Crown is showing it does not care for millions across the UK and billions of the most vulnerable across the planet. They have also come under fire for blocking construction of renewable energy sources [6].

Robert Gordon, a spokesperson for the group, said “These jubilee celebrations are set to cost the taxpayer tens, if not hundreds of millions of pounds. All whilst we are struggling through the cost-of-living crisis and families across the country are increasingly reliant on foodbanks. Instead, this obscene amount of money could have been used to provide instant food security and kick start a plant-based future where no child is left hungry or terrified by climate collapse. We must reclaim royal land for this.”

A global shift to a plant-based food system would sequester more than 300 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide, effectively halting increase in atmospheric greenhouse gasses for 30 years [7]. Rewilding the freed-up land would not only offer carbon drawdown but would also play a vital role in repairing the biodiversity crisis [8]. 

The action today comes as part of Animal Rebellion’s demands for a plant-based future, which were announced on Monday 23rd of May [9]. The group is urging for wholesale governmental support for a transition to a plant-based food system and programme of rewilding that will secure a future for generations to come. 

Animal Rebellion is a mass movement using nonviolent civil disobedience to call for a just, sustainable plant-based food system. 

ENDS

High-quality pictures and videos: https://show.pics.io/animal-rebellion-breaking-news-

For interviews or further comment please contact:

​​​​​​Oliver (Press Back Office): 07706 066859

press@animalrebellion.org

Notes To Editors

[1] Jia. G, Shevliakova. E et al, “Chapter 2: Land-Climate Interactions” in UN Special Report: Climate Change and Land (2019.) https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/

[2] https://web.archive.org/web/20130116064209/http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/rural/agriculture/

[3] https://animalrebellion.org/animal-and-climate-protestors-dye-buckingham-palace-fountains-blood-red/

[4] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216

[5] https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/

[6] https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jul/28/queen-secretly-lobbied-scottish-ministers-climate-law-exemption&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1653996862478951&usg=AOvVaw11zt7DqPAcAu7bQNnQnYBv

[7] https://scientistswarning.forestry.oregonstate.edu/sites/sw/files/Hayek2020.pdf

[8] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aav5570

[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOq2Jqqga9E&t=5s

The post Animal Rebellion Disrupts Platinum Jubilee To Demand A Plant-Based Future And Rewilding Of Royal Land 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.

Press Release: Animal Rebellion

Date: 28/08/21

ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS UNITE FOR MARCH THROUGH CENTRAL LONDON THIS SATURDAY AMIDST ‘AUGUST REBELLION’ 

• The march will depart from Smithfield Market and will have a circular route making symbolic stops at Unilever, Cargill and the Marine Stewardship Council
• Animal Rights marches in previous years have mobilised thousands of people 
• This demonstration was organised by the group Animal Rebellion who will be joined by many other animal rights groups and activists

Animal Rights Activists will today come together for the National Animal Rights March, in London.The demonstration – which takes place during the ‘August Rebellion’ – brings together animal rights groups and activists across the UK to unite for animal justice and call for urgent action from corporations and the government to completely terminate human use and abuse of animals. 

The march is expected to be joined by thousands of people with a message of animal liberation, unity and hope for the future. 

“Animal Rights Marches have historically served as a space to celebrate and remember the trillions of animals killed and exploited by humans in the name of progress, tradition or entertainment, and we expect today to be no different,” said Claudia Penna Rojas, one of the speakers at the march. “By coming together we can vision the world we want to see, provide space for grief and despair as well as a catalyst to commit to further action and change.”

Speeches will be delivered by respected figures from the animal liberation movements and experts in various fields relevant to animal rights.  These include: Mel Broughton, founder of SPEAK campaign against vivisection; Dr Alice Brough, renowned pig veterinarian and activist; Tim Bailey, environmental scientist and one of the UK’s most prominent farm regulatory pollution experts, and Dr Laila Kassam, ​​co-founder of Animal Think Tank, a grassroots organisation building a social movement for Animal Freedom in the UK.

Stops along the circular route will include Smithfield Market, Unilever, Cargill and the Marine Stewardship Council, which are corporations and institutions historically related to animal exploitation and abuse. The reasons behind why these locations were chosen are explained here:

• Smithfield Market has been previously occupied by Animal Rebellion in October 2019, making the choice of location symbolic for the group
• Why we are we marching to Unilever

• Why we are marching to Cargill
• Why we don’t believe in the Marine Stewardship Council’s ‘mission’,  ‘sustainable fishing’

Harley McDonald-Eckersall, a spokesperson from Animal Rebellion, the organisers of this year’s march, said: “Humans kill over 70 billion land mammals every single year. We drain the oceans of trillions of fish, all in the name of profit and a meal for us to consume. After decades of deception and lies from massive corporations, there is almost no facet of our life that does not profit from the exploitation of animals in some way. We must come together and unite for animal justice to say no more to testing, no more to the fur trade and no more to slaughter. We need to imagine and create a world based on freedom and justice for all animals.” 

Animal Rebellion have previously gained attention for their actions and campaigns drawing attention to the environmental impacts of animal agriculture, but say that, for this day, they are focusing on the need to unite for animal justice.

The March starts at 12:30 at Smithfield Meat Market, which will also serve as the end point of the march. 

The National Animal Rights Facebook event can be found here: https://fb.me/e/Ql759ESC

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