How PETA Helps Animals on UK Farms (and How You Can Get Involved)

 

The meat, egg, and dairy industries are responsible for the suffering and deaths of over a billion animals in the UK every year. PETA works to end this cruelty in many ways, including objecting to proposals for new factory farms, releasing eyewitness footage of animal abuse in existing facilities, and promoting vegan living.

©Animal Rights Protests Photography

Opposing Factory Farms

PETA regularly supports local people in objecting to plans for new factory farms in their communities. For every megafarm that gets rejected, countless animals are spared a life of misery and a cruel death. If you’d like to get involved with these campaigns, please join our Action Team today:

Join PETA's Action Team

ONGOING CASES

The planning application process often goes on for several months before a decision is announced by the authorities. Here are some ongoing cases which PETA is involved in:

  • Scotland’s first caviar farm

    In January, 2018, over 5,000 PETA supporters signed a petition to Argyll and Bute Council urging it to reject plans for an intensive caviar farm that would keep sturgeons confined in stressful, unnatural conditions before subjecting them to a cruel, bloody death. The farm would have been the first of its kind in Scotland, and only the second in the UK. The petition generated a huge amount of press coverage, including an article in the The Times. No decision has yet been announced by the council.

  • Turkey farm in Staffordshire

    Nearly 7,000 PETA supporters signed a petition submitted to South Staffordshire Council in December, 2017, urging it to reject plans for an intensive turkey farm that would condemn 60,000 gentle birds a year to a miserable life and terrifying death. No decision has yet been announced by the council.

  • Pig farm in Kettering

    Nearly 20,00 PETA supporters contacted Kettering Borough Council in October, 2017, urging it to reject plans for a cruel pig farm which would send over 3,500 pigs a year to slaughter. No decision has yet been announced by the council.

RECENT VICTORIES

PETA, alongside local activists, has been involved in many high-profile victories against proposed farms throughout the years. Here are some recent examples:

  • Rugby pig farm

    After PETA submitted a petition signed by nearly 23,000 of our supporters, an application for a cruel factory farm in Rugby, which would have condemned 2,250 pigs at a time to a life of misery and suffering, has been rejected by Rugby Borough Council.

  • Chicken farm in Northamptonshire

    An application for a gigantic factory farm in Rushden, Northamptonshire – which would have sent over 4 million chickens to slaughter every year – was withdrawn follwing a petition opposing the farm signed by over 5,000 PETA supporters as well as a campaign organised by local residents.

  • Chicken farm near Peterborough

    In December 2017, following nearly 5,000 emails from PETA supporters, Huntingdonshire District Council announced that it had rejected plans for a cruel chicken farm and abattoir near Peterborough.

Eyewitness Investigations

PETA releases eyewitness exposés of farms across the UK, documenting the suffering of animals who are abused for their flesh. This helps people make the connection between the meat on their plate and the once living, feeling animal who endured a lifetime of suffering and demonstrates that going vegan is the only truly ethical option. If you’d like to be the first to hear about any new investigations and help us share and promote them, please join our Action Team today:

Join PETA's Action Team

  • “Free-range” eggs

    In July 2017, PETA published shocking footage of the conditions on a “free-range” egg farm in Cambridgeshire showing sick and dying birds crammed into a dark shed. The footage proves that while “free-range” labels might deceive consumers into feeling better about purchasing eggs, they do little to protect chickens.

  • “Broiler” chicken farms

    PETA released photos of horrific conditions on a “broiler” chicken farm in Suffolk in May 2017 showing birds who had lost their feathers because of stress and ammonia burns and dead chickens thrown into a bin to rot. A similar video released by PETA in December 2016 shows chickens suffering on farms in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire which supply Marks & Spencer.

  • Pig farms

    Footage of an East Yorkshire pig farm released by PETA in August 2016 shows harrowing scenes of pigs with open sores and dead and dying piglets strewn across the concrete floor. Similar footage from farms in Norfolk and Yorkshire published by PETA in March 2016 shows that these horrendous conditions are common on farms across the UK.

Promoting Vegan Living

PETA works to reduce demand for meat, eggs, and dairy “products” by promoting a healthy and cruelty-free vegan diet. This is achieved in a wide variety of ways, including:

  • Sending out tens of thousands of Vegan Starter Kits every year
  • Sharing vegan recipes
  • Placing vegan advertisements in public places
  • Organising demonstrations and handouts of vegan product samples
  • Working with vegan celebrities and athletes
  • Providing activists with vegan leaflets
  • Working with restaurants and other businesses to provide vegan options
  • Contributing to discussions on vegan living in print and online publications, on TV, and on the radio