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Müller Protestors Given Community Service and Fines at Bristol Magistrates Court

Six Animal Rising campaigners have been sentenced at Bristol Magistrates Court today (27/6/25) after being found guilty of aggravated trespass. Each of them was given 60 hours unpaid work (to be completed within 12 months), a fine of £666 as compensation to Müller, and a £114 victim surcharge.

Six Animal Rising protestors outside Bristol Magistrates Court on 27/6/25
Six Animal Rising protestors outside Bristol Magistrates Court on 27/6/25

  • They initially had their cases dismissed on 19/1/24 after a two-day trial due to lack of evidence, but a successful appeal from the CPS meant they were transferred to guilty verdicts on 12/3/25.

  • They took part in Animal Rising’s “Stop the Supply” Dairy Campaign in September 2022, in which Müller’s Bridgwater site was blockaded by protestors [1].

  • The protest was part of a week of nationwide Animal Rising actions at Müller, Freshways, and Arla Foods’ dairy facilities, which saw dairy trucks immobilised and milk shortages on supermarket shelves [2] [3].


Campaigners took part in Animal Rising’s week of anti-dairy campaigning to generate a public discussion of the dairy industry’s role in the climate emergency. Animal Rising’s stance is that animal agriculture is an unsustainable food system if we are to avoid climate disaster, maintain food security and restore Britain’s depleted biodiversity. Reducing the size of the dairy industry represents a huge opportunity to reduce methane emissions which would not just avoid further warming of the atmosphere, but bring about a cooling effect [4].


Daniel Juniper, 30, a former nursery practitioner from Bristol and one of those convicted said:

“The climate emergency negatively impacts on our food system in the form of flooding, droughts and yield losses. It is vitally important that the industry recognises that it’s in their interest to move to sustainable alternatives. "
"As our food systems move towards intensification we see more animals suffering, more farmers suffering, and worse outcomes for nature. We need DEFRA Secretary Steve Reed to lead this pivot to a safe and sustainable plant-based food system that offers us all a positive alternative.”

Since the protests in 2022, the dairy industry has undergone further intensification. Despite nearly 200 dairy farmers quitting over the past year, production volumes continue to increase [5]. Muller has faced anger from farmers for dropping farms that fail to intensify [6].


Ben Willshee, 27, a teaching assistant from Cardiff and another of those convicted, said:

“The children in our world deserve a happy and bright future, yet we are now seeing healthy life expectancy at birth in England dropping after decades of increases. We need a nutritious and sustainable food system, and that means moving away from the extremely harmful dairy industry.”

A 2023 study by Oxford University, backed up other previous studies, showed that a plant-based diet has the lowest impact on the environment in all areas analysed, including emissions, land-use, water-use and biodiversity loss [7].


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.


ENDS


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Emma (Press Back Office)  +44 1225 29 6691


Notes to the Editor:


 
 
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