Police have arrested 34 individuals following a protest at a Müller Dairy site in Worcestershire which saw animal rights activists glue themselves to lorries.
The Animal Rebellion protest began early on Sunday morning (4 September) with activists targeting Arla’s Aylesbury site, before they switched targets and started protesting at depots belonging to Freshways and Müller through the week.
Video footage showed police peeling a protester off the top of an empty HGV outside the Müller dairy in Droitwich.
The campaign aimed to disrupt milk supplies across the country over a two-week period to highlight the impact of animal agriculture on the climate.
However, Müller insisted that deliveries had been largely unaffected: “A small number of activists do not represent the 96% of adults in Britain who buy milk every week,” said a Müller UK & Ireland spokesman. “And during a cost of living crisis, we will continue to ensure that milk, which is affordable and packed with nutrients that benefits our bodies, reaches families, including vulnerable members of society.”
West Mercia Police said it had initially arrested 13 people after a significant number of people gained unauthorised access to Müller’s site in Droitwich, causing damage on entry. It added that a further 21 people had since been arrested for aggravated trespassing offences.
“We respect the right to peaceful protest but we will take proportionate action when the law is broken,” said assistant chief constable Richard Cooper. “Those who commit crimes while protesting will be dealt with fairly but robustly by West Mercia Police.”
