Arla Foods has lifted parts of a general injunction against unauthorised persons at three British dairies and a warehouse. The injunction was introduced in 2022 following actions by animal rights activists, but the dairy group now considers there to be insufficient signs of planned unlawful protests.

Arla Foods has chosen to remove parts of a general legal injunction that has been in force since 2022 at three British dairies and a warehouse. This is evident from court documents filed by Arla’s British companies and has been confirmed by Arla to AgriWatch, a Danish news media covering agriculture and the food industry.

The injunction was originally issued after animal rights activists gained access to one of Arla’s British sites in 2022 and caused damage that disrupted the company’s milk deliveries. It was upheld by the British courts in 2022 and, according to the court documents, covered 34 named individuals as well as general protection against unauthorised persons at the Aylesbury, Oakthorpe and Stourton dairies and a warehouse in Hatfield.

According to the legal correspondence, the reasoning behind the easing is that Arla no longer sees concrete signs that unlawful protest actions are being prepared at the group’s British sites. At the same time, the correspondence notes that protest groups remain active.

“We continuously assess, on a case-by-case basis, which security measures are necessary at our sites in individual countries,” Arla’s press officer, Bjarke Kamstrup, said in a comment to AgriWatch.

He stresses that parts of the injunction still apply at the British sites, but according to AgriWatch, it remains unclear exactly which parts of the injunction are still in force, and whether the 34 named individuals remain covered by it.

By Maja Løvstrup
Source: AgriWatch / FødevareWatch
Photo: Arla Foods