A series of blockades at a number of sites by vegan activists are threatening deliveries of milk this week.
Animal Rebellion targeted Arla's Aylesbury site on Sunday and Monday this week and, earlier today (6 September), switched targets, holding a third day of protests at three depots belonging to Freshways and Muller.
The protests saw Animal Rebellion campaigners preventing trucks leaving Muller depots at Droitwich and Willenhall and a Freshways depot at Acton by puncturing the tyres of HGVs and climbing on top of some of the trucks. Police were called to the three sites in the early hours of this morning.
Animal Rebellion’s latest campaign is aiming to disrupt milk supplies across the country over a two-week period to highlight the impact of animal agriculture on the climate.
The protest at Arla’s site in Aylesbury on Sunday and Monday saw protestors defy a High Court injunction which the farmer-owned dairy co-operative had taken out in an attempt to stop the demonstrators targeting its sites.
Arla supplies a total of around 40% of the milk supplied to UK supermarkets.
The injunction, published on Arla’s website, warns that if the Animal Rebellion were able to succesfully blockade the Aylesbury site, it could create milk shortages on supermarket shelves. The dairy is the largest in the UK, and produces around 10% of the UK’s milk. Over 300 trucks leave the site each day.
It states: “Taking that supply out of the supply chain will have an adverse impact on the supply of milk to supermarkets and retailers, especially if coupled with similar effective protests at other Arla sites."
However, Arla insisted today that the demonstrators had not disrupted milk deliveries this week, insisting that production continued throughout the protest and that deliveries carried on "as normal." Muller also said its supplies of frsh milk were being "maintained" despite the protests.
The protestors defended their actions this week. One activist Robert Allan, 28, said: "We are being faced with the most brutal of cost-of-living crisis right now.
"Food is becoming more scarce and expensive because of the drought and crop failures brought on by the climate crisis.
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"Liz Truss's time as Environment, then Foreign Secretary increased the reliance on importation and the inappropriate distribution of subsidies that trap farmers in unproductive, loss-making businesses.
"The new Prime Minister should use their role to reverse this damage and take a bold step toward a plant-based future.
"If we make this transition farmers can reliably produce vast amounts of cheap, healthy, and local plant-based food.
"Not only would this reduce the grocery bill for families across the UK, but the land no longer needed for animal farming and fishing could be rewilded and draw down vast amounts of carbon from the atmosphere.
"We have a science-backed solution to the climate and ecological crisis and we urge Liz Truss to take it.”
In response to today’s protests a spokesperson for Müller UK & Ireland said: “Supplies of fresh milk are being maintained due to the hard work and professionalism of our employees.
“We have experienced isolated incidents of criminal damage to vehicles at our sites, with activists endangering themselves and our employees by bringing knives and drills onto our facilities.
“This small group of activists do not represent the 96% of adults in Britain who choose milk every week and are our priority. During a cost of living crisis we will continue to ensure that it reaches families, including vulnerable members of society.”
An Arla spokesperson told MT: “Following protestor activity at our Aylesbury site, all protestors have now been removed by police.
“Normal milk production continued throughout and all roads around the site are open. No disruption was caused to milk processing and the site is fully operational as normal.”
Freshways has yet to respond to a request for comment.
