- Three Animal Rising supporters were sentenced yesterday (5/8/24) at St Albans Crown Court for conspiring to cause criminal damage at the Hatfield site of Arla Foods, concluding the trial for the 13 supporters that took action in 2022.
- Last week (31/07/24) ten supporters were sentenced at the same court for the same offence. In total, the thirteen defendants received sentences totalling 1,550 hours of community service, 168 months sentencing, suspended, and £56,875 in compensation.
- Today’s defendants received sentences totalling £11,200 compensation, 40 days rehabilitation, 100 hours of community service and suspended sentences totalling 46 months.
- The actions were part of Animal Rising’s (then Animal Rebellion) 2022 “Plant-Based Future” campaign, which aimed to stop the supply of dairy in the UK, and call on the government to transition to a just and sustainable plant-based food system.
Court concluded with all defendants being ordered to pay fines, and most receiving suspended sentences by Judge Lana Wood after the trial began in April.
Supporters had been charged with conspiracy to cause £581,000 worth of damage during their disruption of the dairy supply chain at the Hatfield site of Arla Foods in 2022.
Claudia Penna-Rojas, Animal Rising spokesperson, said: “In the past week, the defendants have been hit with harsh sentences and costly fines for bringing attention to the detrimental climate breakdown that the dairy industry causes.
“The dairy industry and animal agriculture as a whole significantly contribute to water usage, habitat pollution, and species extinction.
“In the midst of climate and ecological breakdown, addressing animal and environmental health is needed now more than ever. We need the government to lead the transition to a just and sustainable plant-based food system for a world where animals and humans can live together peacefully.”
Anna Wilkinson, one of the defendants, said: “Arla do not need compensation; they will be insured to the hilt, and, as the largest dairy producer in the UK, they recorded profits of €380 million in 2023.
“This ruling is really about trying to make sure people are deterred from protesting against the harm done by Arla and other large companies to the environment, humans and animals.
“However, history teaches us that people will not be stopped by such measures and will continue to speak out.”
In 2018, a study from the University of Oxford found that a global transition to a plant-based food system would free up 76% of farmland that could then be rewilded to draw down carbon and provide habitats for endangered species [4]. Moving away from animal agriculture would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water usage while improving conditions for biodiversity.
Animal Rising is a social movement to create a new relationship with all beings and give us a chance for a safe ecological future. The group primarily calls for the transition to a secure and sustainable plant-based food system, alongside a mass rewilding programme.
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