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Animal Rising

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Animal Rising
FormationJune 2019; 5 years ago (2019-06)
Founded atLondon
PurposeAnimal rights, plant-based food system
HeadquartersLondon
Volunteers
100 organisers
Websitewww.animalrising.org
Animal Rebellion sticker referencing zoonotic disease, Ireland.

Animal Rising (formerly Animal Rebellion) is a British animal activist movement with the stated aim of compelling social change towards animal rights and a plant-based food system.[1] They justify their actions with the impact of animal agriculture on climate change, species extinction and ecosystem breakdown.

Animal Rising use civil disobedience methods that have frequently resulted in its members being arrested. Their methods include graffiti, destruction of property, blockading and preventing food distribution, trespassing onto livestock industry premises, and blockading streets. The movement states on its website that it is nonviolent and focuses its actions on systems, not individuals.[2]

The targets of their actions have included dairy and other livestock companies, horse racing courses, the British royal family, government offices, supermarkets, and restaurants.

The organisation was founded in June 2019 as Animal Rebellion, as a sister organisation to Extinction Rebellion, an emerging and headline-making movement at the time. It had 12 founding members, including Daniel Kidby, Dora Hargitai, and Alex Lockwood, and by autumn 2019 grew to a size of 100 organisers.[3][4]

In April 2023, Animal Rebellion changed its name to Animal Rising to take a "firm" step away from the Extinction Rebellion movement and prioritize animal rights issues.[5][6] Animal Rising pledged to "take direct action to see an end to animal suffering in all its forms".[7]

Demands

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As of early 2023, Animal Rebellion made two demands of the United Kingdom government:[8]

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

Protests

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Logo of Animal Rebellion, in use from 2019 to 2023
Animal Rebellion protesters at the September 2019 climate strikes in San Francisco.

2019-20: Extinction Rebellion protests and abattoir blockades

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From 7 October to 19 October 2019, Animal Rebellion organised a wave of civil disobedience in London and Berlin, in parallel to Extinction Rebellion protests. Animal Rebellion protested in front of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture,[9] at Smithfield meat market,[10][11] the largest UK meat market, and Billingsgate Fish Market,[12] and at an abattoir in Farnborough, Hampshire, leading to several dozen arrests for obstruction of traffic and "obstruction or disruption of a person engaged in lawful activity".[12][13] They reported that the abattoir protest was to highlight the role the farming industry plays in the climate crisis, as well as animal welfare issues and the conditions for abattoir workers.[14]

In 2020, Animal Rebellion staged protests in the UK, Ireland and the Czech Republic in September. This included the blockade of a pig slaughterhouse near Manchester, England.[15][16][17][18][19][20]

In London, they vandalised the Trafalgar Square fountain by dying the water red, resulting in two arrests and a bill for the council to clean the water. This was to protest the use of crown lands for hunting and animal agriculture, as well as the Queen's attempts to have her land exempted from an initiative to cut carbon emissions.[21]

In October, Animal Rebellion protested in Berlin (Germany) and Auckland (New Zealand).[22][23]

2021: Meat and dairy factory blockades

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Animal Rebellion blocking the agriculture ministry in Berlin, Germany in 2020.

Animal Rebellion protesters blocked the entrance of a Tnuva dairy logistics centre in Petah Tikva, Israel, in February 2021.[24] Similarly, Animal Rebellion blocked the entrances of four McDonald's UK distribution centres in May 2021, demanding the fast-food chain go entirely plant-based by 2025. An Animal Rebellion spokesperson said that what others call sustainable meat is insufficient to mitigate the climate crisis.[25][26]

Continuing their attack on McDonald's, the group blocked the entrance to the OSI Food Solutions factory in Scunthorpe, England in July 2021.[27] The factory is the "only UK factory that makes McDonald’s burgers", Animal Rebellion stated.[28] Like the protest in May, they demanded the chain change their menu to entirely plant-based food by 2025. [29]

On 28 August 2021, they coordinated a protest with Camp Beagle at Smithfield Market in London.[30] During that month, they also held a "McSitin" at Leicester Square, dyed the fountain in front of Buckingham Palace red and blocked the trucks of Arla's biggest UK dairy processing plant which is in Aylesbury. [31] [32] [33]

During the annual UN Climate Change conference COP26 in October 2021, Animal Rebellion protesters climbed the Home Office building.[34]

2022: Dairy dumping

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On 2 June 2022, Animal Rebellion in London disrupted the trooping the colour parade, running into the Mall and throwing themselves in front of the procession, in a renewed protest against the royal family's support of animal agriculture.[35] Two days later, six female protesters ran onto the course of the Epsom Derby horse race before its start. The action was on the anniversary of Emily Davison's famous suffragette protest at the same derby 109 years earlier. In both cases, the activists were removed by police officers and were arrested.[36]

On 8 August 2022, the protesters stormed the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and occupied the national headquarters. They refused to leave the building, blocking the front doors and hosting impromptu workshops until the RSPCA agreed to declare its support for transitioning to a fully plant-based food system.[37]

In June 2022, a group of protesters stormed Harrods and another store in London. They took cartons of milk and emptied them in the stores.[38] In early September 2022, Animal Rebellion declared it would disrupt dairy supplies during September. On 3 September, activists blocked access to milk at supermarkets in four cities. On 4 September, activists disrupted fresh milk supplies at four Müller and Arla distribution centres.[39][40][41][42] In mid-October 2022, activists from Animal Rebellion held protests by pouring milk on the floor in various stores and supermarkets across Britain, including Harrods, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Fortnum & Mason.[43]

In November 2022, Animal Rebellion members joined Just Stop Oil in a protest on the M25 motorway in the UK.[44]

Also in November 2022, they occupied Gordon Ramsay's three-star Michelin restaurant in Chelsea, London.[45][46]

2023-24: Attempted horse race blockades and halt on direct action

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On 14 February 2023, Animal Rebellion blocked London's Westminster Bridge in a Valentine's Day protest. This led to the arrest of five Animal Rebellion protesters. One additional person was arrested for bodily assaulting the protesters.[47]

In early April 2023, it was revealed that Animal Rebellion planned to disrupt the 2023 Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse.[48] Animal Rebellion then renamed itself Animal Rising. On April 15, Animal Rising blocked the Grand National at Aintree. They delayed the race by 15 minutes, leading to the arrest of 118 activists for delaying the race and for public order offences.[7] A spokesman for Aintree Racecourse stated that "their actions could endanger the horses they purport to protect, as well as jockeys, officials and themselves".[49]

The next day, trainer Sandy Thomson told the BBC that the 14-minute delay caused by protesters was to blame for the death of racehorse Hill Sixteen. However, the British Horseracing Authority, which condemned the protests, could not find a "direct parallel" between the delay caused by the protests and Hill Sixteen's death. Animal Rising spokesman Ben Newman argued that the protests were meant to stop the race to prevent the deaths of horses, and to start a dialogue about our broken relationship with animals. He also stated that the public does not blame the group for the horse's death. Following Hill Sixteen's death, the RSPCA called for reforming the size of the field, noting that only 17 of the 39 horses completed the race that day.[50]

Animal Rising stated they planned to target other major horse racing events.[51] The group attempted to disrupt that year's Epsom Derby but failed, with only a single individual making it onto the track before being removed without impacting the races.[52] Plans to disrupt the Royal Ascot were abandoned by the group.[53]

In April 2024, the group stated it wouldn't attempt to disrupt the 2024 Grand National, and that it would be indefinitely suspending similar actions.[54]

In June 2024, protestors attached posters depicting Wallace, of Wallace and Gromit, with a caption, to the glass case of a recently-unveiled portrait of King Charles III in protest against the conditions in "assured farms" accredited by the RSPCA, of which the King is a patron.[55]

References

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  1. ^ "Our History". animalrising.org. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Strategy – Animal Rebellion". 31 January 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  3. ^ Partos, Hannah (15 September 2019). "How Sunday lunch at nan's led to a vegan's battle against the climate crisis". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Alex Lockwood". University of Sunderland. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Grand National 2023: Hundreds of animal activists to disrupt race at Aintree". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Animal Rebellion Moves Away From Extinction Rebellion With New Rebrand". plantbasednews.org. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b "More than 100 animal rights activists arrested after Grand National protests". theguardian.com. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Why we're disrupting the supply of dairy: the climate crisis changes everything". Animal Rebellion. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Klimaaktivisten blockieren Potsdamer Platz und Großen Stern". www.rbb24.de (in German). Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  10. ^ Francis, Sam (8 October 2019). "Climate activists blockade Smithfield meat market". BBC. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  11. ^ Taylor, Matthew (16 August 2019). "Animal Rebellion activists to blockade UK's biggest meat market". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Arrests after fish market protests". BBC News. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Three charged over Animal Rebellion abattoir demo". BBC. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Charges dropped over Animal Rebellion protest". BBC. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  15. ^ Chiorando, Maria (September 2020). "U.K Government Told: 'Stop Ignoring Link Between Animal Farming And Climate Crisis'". Vegan News, Plant Based Living, Food, Health & more. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  16. ^ "V úterý začíná rebelie Spolu za život hnutí Animal Rebellion. Uskuteční se hladovky i občanské neposlušnosti | 31. 8. 2020". Britské listy (in Czech). 31 August 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Animal activists stage protest at pig processing site". Farmers Weekly. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Extinction Rebellion: More than 300 arrested at London climate protests". BBC News. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  19. ^ "'Animal Rebellion' stage a 'rooftop protest' at the Department of Agriculture". Irish Times. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  20. ^ Crosson, Kayle (14 September 2020). "Affiliated Extinction Rebellion group call for a radical change to agriculture". Green News Ireland. GreenNews.ie. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Trafalgar Square fountains: Two arrested over red dye protest". BBC News. 11 July 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Klimaaktivisten blockieren Potsdamer Platz und Großen Stern". www.rbb24.de (in German). Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Vegan activists protest outside Fonterra headquarters". Newshub. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  24. ^ Surkes, Sue. "Animal rights activists block logistics center of dairy giant Tnuva". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  25. ^ "McDonald's: Animal rights group blockades depots, activists say". BBC News. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  26. ^ "UK animal rights group blockades four McDonald's depots". The Guardian. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021. An Animal Rebellion spokesperson, James Ozden, said the action was aimed at calling out the animal agriculture industry for its part in the global climate crisis. "The meat and dairy industry is destroying our planet: causing huge amounts of rainforest deforestation, emitting immense quantities of greenhouse gases and killing billions of animals each year," he said. "The only sustainable and realistic way to feed 10 billion people is with a plant-based food system. Organic, free-range and 'sustainable' animal-based options simply aren't good enough."
  27. ^ "McDonald's blockade: Animal Rebellion protest at burger factory". BBC News. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Protesters blockade 'only factory in the UK that produces burgers for McDonald's'". LBC. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  29. ^ "Animal Rebellion blockades McDonald's burger factory in Scunthorpe in climate crisis protest". Sky News. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  30. ^ Phillips, Alexa (28 August 2021). "Animal Rebellion: Hundreds of animal rights protesters linked to Extinction Rebellion stop traffic in London". Sky News. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  31. ^ "Police arrive as Animal Rebellion protesters take over McDonald's in Leicester Square and plan to stay until 6am". Newsflare. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  32. ^ "Animal Rebellion paints Buckingham Palace fountain red". The Guardian. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  33. ^ "Animal Rebellion protesters blockade UK's largest dairy factory". Independent. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  34. ^ "COP26: Animal Rebellion protesters climb Defra and Home Office building with message for world leaders". Sky News. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  35. ^ Matthew Weaver (2 June 2022). "Animal Rebellion activists arrested after disrupting platinum jubilee event on Mall". The Guardian.
  36. ^ PA Media (4 June 2022). "Animal Rebellion protesters run on to track before Epsom Derby". The Guardian.
  37. ^ "Animal Rebellion Occupies RSPCA HQ – Animal Rebellion". 2022-08-08. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  38. ^ "Anti-dairy activists pour milk on Harrods floor after 'occupying' Waitrose cheese aisle".
  39. ^ "Animal Rebellion activists vow to disrupt UK milk supplies". the Guardian. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  40. ^ "Animal Rebellion activists block access to milk at supermarkets across the country". Yahoo News UK. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  41. ^ "Animal Rebellion activists stop milk supply in parts of England". the Guardian. 4 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  42. ^ "Animal Rebellion protesters pour milk onto shop floors in coordinated protest". The Independent.
  43. ^ ""The world's best scientists are calling for transition to plant-based food" Protesters pour milk in shops across UK". www.scotsman.com. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  44. ^ "Animal Rebellion activist joins Just Stop Oil in protest on M25 gantry". MSN. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  45. ^ "Gordon Ramsay's three-star Michelin restaurant occupied by activists". The Independent. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  46. ^ "Animal Rebellion occupies Gordon Ramsay's three-star Michelin restaurant". The Guardian. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  47. ^ Chantler-Hicks, Lydia (2023-02-14). "Animal Rebellion activists block Westminster Bridge in Valentine's Day protest". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  48. ^ Wood, Greg (2023-04-02). "'You're doing the right thing': climate activists plan to disrupt Grand National". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  49. ^ "Grand National defies animal rights saboteurs". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  50. ^ "Grand National 2023: Trainer blames delays caused by protesters for horse death". BBC. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  51. ^ "Three more horses die at the Grand National – what happens next?". itv.com. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  52. ^ Glendenning, Barry (2023-06-03). "Derby disruption fears averted but tension lingers beyond the track". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  53. ^ Wood, Greg; Wood, Exclusive by Greg (2024-04-04). "'We won't be there': Animal Rising will not protest at Grand National this year". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  54. ^ Wood, Greg; Wood, Exclusive by Greg (2024-04-04). "'We won't be there': Animal Rising will not protest at Grand National this year". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  55. ^ Coughlan, Sean (11 June 2024). "Animal-rights protesters attack portrait of King". BBC. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
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