Milking it: Animal Rebellion protestors pour milk across UK shop aisles as group say 'we don't have a choice'
15 October 2022, 19:16 | Updated: 19 October 2022, 09:26
Eco-activists have doused UK supermarket aisles with milk – including Harrods, Fortnum & Mason and Waitrose, with Animal Rebellion spokesperson Robert Gordon telling LBC "we don't have a choice".
The co-ordinated protests from Animal Rebellion activists were staged across the UK, pouring milk down aisles and dousing displays in what they dubbed ‘Milk Pours’.
Entering stores including Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, Waitrose, Whole Foods and Marks and Spencer, the co-ordinated protests took place in London, Manchester, Norwich and Edinburgh just before 12pm on Saturday
Speaking to LBC's Natasha Devon, Animal Rebellion spokesperson Robert Gordon said: "Right wing commentators would have you believe we picked these supermarkets because it's all we know, because it's where mummy and daddy took us as kids.
"In reality, we're just a group of really concerned individuals who have carefully picked these high-end shops because we acknowledge that when we take action.
The animal nutjobs are back this time pouring milk all over the floor in a Waitrose in Edinburgh.
— Sophie Corcoran (@sophielouisecc) October 15, 2022
Acting as if there isn’t a cost of living crisis going on and families are struggling to get by whilst they pour milk all over the floor….
They should have to pay for it … pic.twitter.com/CmjZMYad9Y
Read more: Eco activists deny criminal damage over Van Gogh soup protest
"There's an inevitable level of disruption that will be caused - and we really didn't want to be disrupting those who are suffering most in the cost of living crisis,' said Gordon.
"We picked the Fortnum & Masons, the Selfridges, the M&Ss and we're sorry for those people who did get caught in that disruption.
Adding: "Frankly, at this point, we don't have a choice."
It follows a series of protests by eco-group Just Stop Oil, with two women charged in relation to soup being thrown over Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting in London's National Gallery.
A third is charged over paint sprayed on to the rotating New Scotland Yard sign - both during protests in London on Friday.
Footage of today's milk protests show several protesters pouring milk, taken from the shelves, on to display cabinets in Harrods' food hall in Knightsbridge.
Another group was filmed emptying milk bottles on to the floor and across a table laden with cheeses in Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly.
Animal Rebellion said it is calling for a plant-based future and highlighting the need to support farmers in transitioning to a sustainable plant-based food system.
Lou Hadden, a charity worker from Herefordshire who joined the action at Fortnum and Mason, said: "This is not how I imagined spending my weekend.
"Unfortunately, this disruption is necessary to get those in power to listen to the academics at Oxford, Harvard and the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
"The world's best climate and land scientists are calling for the transition to a plant-based food system.
