Activist group Animal Rebellion has provided assurance that it will not target small independent stores in its milk-pour protests.

Last month, the group targeted a number of supermarkets such as Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Whole Foods as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the climate crisis. Videos which went viral on social media showed supporters of the group taking bottles of milk from the supermarket shelves and pouring them onto the shopfloor.

Asked by Better Retailing whether the group would be targeting independent convenience stores in its protests, a spokesperson said: “On several occasions between July and October, supporters of Animal Rebellion targeted luxury department stores like Harrods and high-end supermarkets such as Waitrose or Mark & Spencer.

“This created a massive national conversation about the need to transition to a plant-based food system and the controversy of the tactic, of course.

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“The locations for these actions were consciously chosen to have no impact on independent business owners, and minimal impact on shoppers struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Animal Rebellion completely accepts responsibility for the disruption these actions caused, and apologises for the inconvenience to shoppers and workers. However, it is important to remember these tactics were inspired by farmers themselves.

“We don’t anticipate taking action in small, independent stores in the future. All that Animal Rebellion does is carefully considered and designed to cause as little impact on people going about their everyday lives, whilst also bringing the clear message that a plant-based food system and rewilding is the key solution to the climate and ecological emergencies we all face.”

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