Activists with the Animal Rebellion have begun a fifth day of protests by affixing themselves to the entrance of a busy dairy plant in an effort to stop the supply chain at the gate.
A handful of activists were spotted at the gated entrance of the Müller dairy in Droitwich, Worcestershire on Thursday morning.
In front of shocked police officers and staff, they seemed relaxed as they joked about and waved posters that proclaimed “plant based future.”
On Thursday morning, an organisation representative defended the disruptive action by saying that it is “coming from a place of love and profound concern for our only planet.”
When the government refuses to address the ecological and climatic crises we are facing and disregards all other avenues of communication, actions like this become our only recourse. The organisation said that time was running out.
This week, the gang has repeatedly attacked the same building.
On Thursday, a dairy representative issued a statement recognising the “incidents of criminal damage.”
“We are continuing to adequately satisfy the demands of the 96% of people in Britain who select fresh milk each week thanks to the professionalism, tenacity, and resiliency of our personnel.
A small group of protestors attacked us this morning at our dairy in Droitwich, climbing fences with cordless power drills, although they were stopped from doing more major criminal damage to our workers’ safety-endangering equipment or cars.
“We will continue to make sure that milk, which is inexpensive and rich with nutrients that are good for our bodies, reaches families, particularly disadvantaged sections of society,” the statement reads.
The original demonstration at Müller resulted in damage costing £80,000.
The gang also made video of themselves drilling the tyres of around 50 vehicles, completely halting the flow of dairy from Arla Hatfield dairy.
‘My officers were on the scene within minutes of getting the report, and were confronted with a number of demonstrators inflicting criminal damage to the transport trucks on site,’ Hertfordshire police superintendent Sue Jameson said.
A few trailers were so badly damaged that they couldn’t be driven. The freedom to disrupt public order or commit crimes is not part of the right to demonstrate. There are two types of protesting: those who adhere to the law completely and those that break the law. They are very distinct from one another. This behaviour must stop immediately.
In conjunction with this protest activities, 17 persons have been detained thus far on suspicion of aggravated trespass and committing criminal damage. They remain in police custody at this moment.’
When the biggest dairy in the nation, Arla Foods in Aylesbury, was blockaded on Sunday, 23 more protestors were detained.
On Wednesday at about 10.45am, nine activists stopped the intersection of Parliament Street while milk was thrown over the street and the Elizabeth Tower was painted white with modified fire extinguishers.
Outside of the parliamentary compound, more protesters attached themselves to the sidewalk.
At today’s protest, vegan activists knelt down in the street with a banner reading “plant-based future” and screamed against dairy distribution centres in the UK.
Ten persons have reportedly been detained on suspicion of causing criminal damage after demonstrators hurled paint at the Palace of Westminster, according to the Metropolitan Police.
According to the environmental and animal rights advocacy organisation, they “targeted Liz Truss ahead of her first PMQs in an effort to drive her into negotiation for their demands.”
According to them, they painted the historic site a fresh coat of white to symbolise the brutality and devastation caused by the dairy business.
The organisation has been doing anti-dairy demonstrations for five days straight as part of its “Plant-Based Future” campaign, which they claim has resulted in empty milk shelves in Plymouth, Portsmouth, Bristol, and Birmingham.
Angry Britons who are tired of the demonstrations have criticised them, calling them “poshos with no real world concerns.”
Make the self-indulgent, egotistical t***s milk cows till they have recouped the expense of the clean up, said Twitter user “Burnside.” Then lock them up.
One more said, “Soooo pitiful! Why do they object to milk? Before the demonstrators start causing property damage, the police must disperse them!
“How could they? Who is inciting and motivating these rent-a-mobs to commit these crimes?