Animal Rebellion activists restrict UK milk supplies in demand for a ‘plant-based future’

The group has created blockades at 4 Key Dairy Distribution Centres.

Since 5am this morning, Sunday, September 4, groups of Animal Rebellion supporters stopped and climbed onto company trucks outside facilities.

Others trespassed inside company facilities, climbing up onto milk silos and the sites' loading bays after the activists received no response from a letter delivered to Downing Street in August warning of these protests.According to the group, the dairy blocks are happening in Droitwich, Aylesbury, Severnside and Bridgwater.

This comes as the group had been restricting the UK milk supply in four major cities over the weekend, protesting through sit-ins in major supermarkets, blocking customers from accessing dairy aisles.

Protestors from Animal Rebellion entered a Whole Foods store in London and Marks & Spencer’s stores in Southampton, Birmingham, and Manchester.

(Animal Rebellion)

The group say this action is to cause “direct action against Government inaction on a plant-based food transition”.

John Appleton, a father and former employee of the dairy company Arla for six years and who is part of the disruption, said: “I’ve seen this industry first hand; I know the struggle that farmers and workers go through every single day.

“We need a food system that works for them, everyone else, and nonhuman animals. Governmental support for this is vital to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies. We know the twin solution: transition to a plant-based food system and a mass rewilding programme.”

The group have said non-violent protests will continue until the Government meets its two demands:

1. Government supports farmers and fishing communities to move away from animal farming and fishing as part of an urgent and immediate transition to a plant-based food system.

2. Government commits to rewild the freed-up land and ocean as part of a broader programme of wildlife restoration and carbon drawdown.

A spokesperson for Müller UK & Ireland said:   “We are disappointed to be targeted by a small number of activists who don’t represent the 96% of adults in Britain who choose milk every week, and we will ensure that supplies are maintained. 

“Dairy is affordable and packed with nutrients that benefit our bodies. During a cost of living crisis it is wrong to try to prevent it from reaching families, including vulnerable members of society.”