Activists from the Welsh branch of an animal and climate justice movement held a demonstration outside a mid Wales abattoir.

On the morning of Monday, 15 August, around 10 activists from the Welsh branch of the protest group Animal Rebellion held a demonstration outside Randall Parker Foods’ abattoir, near Llanidloes.

The group said they demonstrated peacefully for about half an hour, holding placards which “demanded a ‘plant-based food system’ and a ‘just transition for everyone’”.

The Animal Rebellion protest group use similar tactics to their “sister movement” Extinction Rebellion, but focus on animal rights as well as protecting the environment. This Llanidloes demonstration was the first by the Welsh branch.

The group claim that abattoir processes up to 20,000 lambs each week and employs over 100 people.

Randall Parker Foods was taken over in November by Pilgrim’s, who are in turn owned by Brazil-based JBS, the largest meat processing company in the world.

JBS came under fire last year in a report that showed their carbon footprint had grown by 51 percent to become larger than the carbon footprint of Italy, despite a net-zero pledge by 2040.

Animal Rebellion Cymru spokesperson Pip Morris said: “We’ve come to Randall’s Foods to bear witness to the injustice the non-human animals that are slaughtered here are facing.

“What they’re facing is not only an injustice to them, it is stopping us from addressing the climate and ecological emergency.

“The science is clear that animal foods are by far the most environmentally destructive, and around 85 percent of UK land is being used for meat and dairy.

“Meanwhile, farmers are struggling with unprofitable business models that are unsustainable, only able to continue through massive government subsidies, while many are trapped into oppressive contracts with intensive farming corporations.

“We need a just transition that addresses the injustices being suffered by non human animals while empowering farmers and farm workers to move to a system where they can flourish rather than get by.”