Animal Rebellion gloat that they have caused supermarket milk shortage

Animal Rebellion vegan activists gloat that they have emptied north London supermarket shelves of milk by blocking dairy distribution sites

• Activists immobilised ‘up to 50 lorries’ at Arla’s depot in Hatfield on Thursday
• Animal Rebellion claim this disruption is now being seen in north London shops
• They have ’emptied supermarket shelves of milk’ by disrupting distribution
• Comes after a five-day protest targeting Müller, Freshways and Arla dairy sites 
• Full coverage: Click here to see all our coverage of the Queen’s passing

Animal Rebellion vegan activists are gloating that they have emptied supermarket shelves of milk across north London after blocking a key dairy site on Thursday.

The activists, who have announced a pause to their protests following the Queen’s death, claim they immobilised up to 50 trucks at a depot belonging to dairy producer Arla in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

And 48 hours on, they say they are seeing and hearing reports of empty milk shelves across different London supermarkets.

Animal Rebellion, which campaigns for a plant-based future, released a photograph showing no cartons of milk at a Sainsbury’s in Hornsey, north London. They also released another image of a depleted milk shelf at a Tesco in Harlesden, north-west London. 

A spokesperson for the group also told MailOnline that they have heard reports of a milk shortage at Sainsbury’s in Stamford Hill and Wood Green – also in the north London area.

The Stamford Hill store was said to be half empty by midday while the Wood Green Sainsbury’s was half empty by 1pm. 

The activists said the shortages of fresh milk in north London were due to actions targeting Arla’s depot in Hatfield.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Arla said: ‘We’re extremely disappointed that protesters have caused criminal damage to some of our vehicles at our Hatfield site.

Animal Rebellion vegan activists are gloating that they have emptied supermarket shelves of milk across north London after blocking a key dairy site on Thursday. Pictured: Sainbury’s in Hornsey at 8.30 am this morning

The activists also released another image of a depleted milk shelf at a Tesco in Harlesden, north-west London, reportedly taken at around 2.30pm

The activists said the shortages of fresh milk in north London were due to actions targeting Arla’s depot in Hatfield on Thursday

September 4: Arla’s depot in Aylesbury and three Müller sites in Droitwich, Severnside and Bridgwater are targeted. The protests at Müller caused £80,000 worth of damage.

September 5: Arla Aylesbury, Müller sites in Bridgwater and Droitwich are all disrupted again. A planned roadblock in Central London takes place between Westminster Abbey and Queen Elizabeth II Centre to disrupt new PM Liz Truss’s speech.

September 6: Müller’s distribution centres in Droitwich and Willenhall are hit while they also target Freshways in Acton. At all 3 facilities, the groups drilled through tyres to immobilise milk trucks

September 7: Nine campaigners blocked the junction at Parliament Street as milk was poured over the road and the Elizabeth Tower was sprayed with white paint using modified fire extinguishers

September 8: Protesters immobilise up to 50 lorries and drill holes in tyres at the Arla depot in Hatfield. They now claim it has created a milk shortage in north London. Some also glued themselves to the ground and chained themselves to fences at the Droitwich Müller site.

‘All protesters have been removed from site by local police, however due to the damage caused some deliveries will be slightly delayed.

‘The site is now fully operational, and we are working as quickly and safely as we can to continue delivering nutritious dairy around the country.’

Animal Rebellion wants to see farmers supported to make the switch from meat and dairy production to a plant-based food system, to free up land for rewilding that can draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through new forests and plants, helping curb the climate crisis and protecting nature.

Co-founder of the group Dan Kidby, said: ‘We paused our non-violent campaign out of respect for the British people following the news of Queen Elizabeth’s death, but the disruption we caused is still being felt across the dairy supply chain.

‘We fully stand by our actions and are demanding Government action to transition to a plant-based food system which is the key solution to the climate crisis.’

The protest at Arla Hatfield took place at approximately 10am on Thursday but they say the impact is only being seen 24 to 48 hours on. 

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘A small number of stores may be running low on some lines of milk but alternatives are available and stores continue to receive deliveries.’

The latest protest comes after the group took action every day from September 4 to September 8, claiming they disrupted seven different dairy distribution facilities.

Animal Rebellion caused significant disruption to Müller, Freshways and Arla for five days where they say they have been drilling tyres of trucks, occuping silos and getting on top of company milk trucks. 

On Tuesday climate activists caused misery for drivers by super-gluing themselves to the top of empty lorries outside the Muller dairy in Droitwich

On Wednesday, nine campaigners blocked the junction at Parliament Street at around 10.45am as milk was poured over the road and the Elizabeth Tower was sprayed with white paint using modified fire extinguishers 

Police arrested a protester as Animal Rebellion activists covered the wall outside Parliament with white paint, symbolising milk on Wednesday

The initial protest at Müller, which they targeted multiple times in the week, caused £80,000 worth of damage. 

Superintendent Sue Jameson of Hertfordshire police said: ‘My officers were on the scene within minutes of receiving the call, and were presented with a number of protestors causing criminal damage to the transport vehicles on site.

‘A number of trailers were damaged to the point that they were not driveable. The right to protest does not include the right to cause criminal damage, or cause disorder. 

‘There is protesting, and then there is showing complete disregard for the law and committing a criminal offence. They are two entirely different things. This behaviour is completely unacceptable.’

On Wednesday, nine campaigners blocked the junction at Parliament Street at around 10.45am as milk was poured over the road and the Elizabeth Tower was sprayed with white paint using modified fire extinguishers.

Other protesters glued themselves to the pavement outside the parliamentary estate.

Vegan activists sat down in the road with a banner reading ‘plant-based future’ and chanted about dairy distribution sites in the UK at today’s demonstration.

The climate and animal campaign group said that they had ‘targeted Liz Truss ahead of her first PMQs, in a bid to force her into negotiation for their demands’. 

It is not yet clear when Animal Rebellion will resume protesting following their break in respect of the Queen’s death. Nathan McGovern, spokesperson for Animal Rebellion, told MailOnline that the group have not publicly announced when they plan to restart. 

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