Dear Scrap Factory Farming donors.

I am sorry for not communicating sooner. I am just letting everyone who has donated to us via Crowdjustice have a quick, formal update on our world first legal challenge against the UK government for failing to protect people from the risks factory farming poses (pandemics, antibiotic resistance and the climate crisis), ask if you know anyone who could help us progress the case, and share our (work in progress) library of research with you.

Case update:

The European Court of Human Rights has said we can’t proceed because the 3 claimants “were not sufficiently affected” by factory farming.

We will not be beaten by such a poor reason when we submitted 1200 pages of evidence showing how everyone – people, animals and the planet -were impacted by the risks.

We need your help:

To fight on, we are determined to find someone in the UK who has been directly affected by factory farming and force the court to consider the evidence we collated and presented. Can you help? Any names, leads or ideas would be greatly appreciated. We need someone who has been affected by avian flu or another zoonotic disease or by living near a factory farm or at particular risk of problems due to antibiotic resistance. Please email me on [email protected] if you have any relevant contacts.

Sharing our evidence:

We have been collating our evidence on the impact of factory farming on people in 2 formats – a flipbook and searchable library.

We hope this research summary may help you in some way.

What else are we doing?

Outside of the first  case we are:

• Putting into place a political strategy to influence MPs-  who should be protecting us
• Looking at ways to fight factory farming through other legal challenges- in the UK and elsewhere
• Working with others to get a stop on new factory farms through challenging applications and councils
• Going to build a network of experts including scientists, academics and celebrities who are speaking out against factory farming

We will not give in. Thank you so much for all your support- financial, knowledge, time and encouragement. None of this would have been possible without YOU and others like you who were prepared to support a small, unknown group of volunteers with big goals.

The time is right. Working with you and others we WILL Scrap Factory Farming. For good.

We will not let the UK government continue to put us in danger by ignoring the human health risks from pandemics, antibiotic resistance & the climate crisis linked to the cruel practice of factory farming. Today we lodged the case in the European Court of Human Rights.

We could not have got this far without you – every donation of time or money, every piece of advice has counted and we are humbled and grateful for your help.

And if you want to tweet our exciting news – here’s a link to our tweet.
Help us share this exciting news on Twitter

Just to let you know we can not see any details of people who donate on here. I'm so sorry - its just a restriction of this site. So if you have a question or comment, please email us via [email protected] 

We have recently received notice that our appeal has not been successful at this stage however, as the UK Government fails to take the opportunity to address the risks of factory farming, we are committed to fighting on for animals, people and the planet.

Upon receiving this outcome our legal team also noted that based on timescales of submissions, it is evident that a substantial amount of submitted material could not have been read. Given that this indicates to us a lack of care, sense of duty or awareness of the seriousness of the risks to human health, we will now be taking our appeal to its final stage at the European Court of Human Rights.

One of the reasons given for the refusal stated that ‘Whether intensive farming practices should be banned is a political question ill-suited to judicial review’ but this in itself reflects an inaccurate understanding of the case itself. Whilst our wider campaign outside of the legal challenge calls for the scrapping of factory farming, this is indeed not possible through a judicial review but this is not what the case calls for. This is a human rights case which challenges the failure of the UK government fulfil their duty to ensure that the risks of zoonotic disease outbreak and increasing antibiotic resistance are safeguarded against to the greatest extent possible. It also raises the issue of the impact of factory farming on global emissions which in turn impacts human health and life itself.

The asks we made in the case were simple, for a full assessment of the risks posed by factory farming to be conducted and published, detailing appropriate safeguards which would be put in place to protect the public. Given that the UK has just experienced a record-breaking season of avian flu, we had hoped that the government would take this opportunity to review the risks however it is now clear that we need to escalate our concerns.

And so, we do not stop here. Our legal team led by renowned barrister Michael Mansfield QC, are taking our appeal to the European Court of Human Rights and we still need your help to get there, if at all possible. We are still raising the legal fees which make this case possible and you can support us in reaching this target by donating again, if you can via Crowdjustice or PayPal- or simply by helping us raise awareness. Everything helps!

Thank you for your continued and amazing support, we could not have got this far without you, and we look forward to sharing more updates with you soon.

Yesterday we lost in court in our #ScrapFactoryFarming legal challenge. We lodge now for appeal. We keep raising the issues. Defra made NO argument about the degree of risk linked to Factory Farming via zoonotic disease, antibiotic resistance or the contribution to the climate crisis. Defra relied instead on shallow assertions that the regulations are adequate to deal with the risks and scrutiny is not needed. They are wrong. We have vast reams of science to prove it. The team of volunteers all know that our chosen pathway is not an easy one but the only defeat would be not to try at all. So many of you on here have given us strength. Thank you. We march on undeterred x

 The Humane Being volunteers

If you're interested in our legal challenge and campaign to #scrapfactoryfarming, you might want to watch Channel 4 News this evening at 7pm. We are hoping for some coverage........

After 2 years of planning and researching, we can finally announce that we are going to court next week.

We have an interim hearing where Michael Mansfield QC will make our case for a longer hearing.

Thank you for all the support - we couldn't have done this without you!

** The Scrap Factory Farming volunteers would like to say HUGE THANK YOU for all your support – financial, information, cheering us on, raising awareness etc. We have our court hearing in January and could not have got this far without you.  **

This card is for you from us.

https://www.jacquielawson.com/ecard/pickup/r92b298bb891c4be08feee147b8e39c17?source=jl999&utm_medium=pickup&utm_source=share&utm_campaign=receiver

First of all, a big thank you for helping us get this far by donating and generally cheering us on. As a team of volunteers, we could not have got this far without you. We wish we could thank you individually as you donate, but the platform does not allow that.

We are delighted to tell you that we have been granted a court hearing in January 2022 (date to be published soon). This will enable our fantastic legal team, headed by Michael Mansfield QC and supported by barristers Philip Rule and Lorna Hackett to make the case for a detailed hearing, where the full arguments about why a judicial review into factory farming is needed can be made.

Please follow us on social media and help us raise more awareness / funds for legal fees.

Case details:

We are a small group of volunteers in the UK. In June 2021, we filed a 1200 page application for a judicial review of the Government’s approach to factory farming. The claimants are Dr Alice Brough (a pig veterinarian, who has left the industry), Humane Being (a not-for-profit run by volunteers) and Jane Tredgett (as an individual concerned citizen and former Trustee of the RSPCA). The defendant is the Secretary of State for Defra (our Government Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

Here’s the very short summary of our claims - the UK Government is failing to protect people from the consequences of factory farming – health risks from pandemics, antibiotic resistance, the climate crisis and pollution. The farms are shockingly cruel for animals, problematic for the planet and create disease risk for people and the animals. 

Our legal team believes that the government is in breach of the positive obligations under Articles 2, 3 and 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights and is in violation of section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Very quick update - we are still waiting to hear whether we will be granted a judicial review. We will be fighting hard to ensure our case is heard one way or the other of course.

Hi all. We are doing a drop in evening – where you can meet the team and ask questions about the legal case - on the 20th of this month (July) at 6.45pm if anyone would like to attend.  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scrap-factory-farming-a-world-first-legal-challenge-tickets-160405951519 

We'd love to see you there

Dear Scrap Factory Farming Supporters

We have filed for a judicial review and Defra's counter legal evidence is due today (22nd June). We have created a document summarising the research which can be view or downloaded here https://78460747.flowpaper.com/FactoryFarmingisharminganimalspeopleandtheplanet/

Thank you for your support.
Jane of Humane Being

Dear Scrap Factory Farming supporters

After a year and a half of planning and researching, we have now started judicial review proceedings against the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in relation to the failure to address risks to human health and life from intensive farming practices.

We served our legal bundle of evidence to Defra yesterday. Our team of barristers, Michael Mansfield QC, Philip Rule and Lorna Hackett, have done a fantastic job. Defra have 3 weeks to respond then it will be allocated to a judge to weigh up whether we get a hearing. We will keep you posted.

Thank you to every single person who has donated (time and or money), shared our posts, encouraged and supported us. This thank you card is from the Humane Being team of volunteers and is for every person who has helped the Scrap Factory Farming campaign Thank you card

Thank you

Together we can Scrap Factory Farming and protect: people from disease, animals from cruelty and the planet from further harm. I truly believe this.

Our legal team has just sent the formal Letter Before Action to DEFRA (after a year of us planning and researching!). In broad terms the main argument is the Government’s failure to protect human health from the risks around factory farming. Interwoven are climate messages and points about the conditions for animals and suffering caused.

If the Government fails to provide a good answer, we will file for court and a judicial review.

We have just issued a press release  - please support us on your Social Media and use the opportunity to raise as much noise as you can about the risks and horrors of factory farming . 

Thank you for your support and donations

Together we can Scrap Factory Farming and protect: people from disease, animals from cruelty and the planet from further harm. I truly believe this.

 With my very best wishes to you and for our shared hope for a world that is kinder to animals, people and the planet.

 Jane

Jane Tredgett, Founder and Director of Humane Being

E : [email protected]

W: www.humanebeing.org.uk www.scrapfactoryfarming.org

F : www.facebook.com/HumaneBeing2019 https://www.facebook.com/ScrapFactoryFarming

T: www.twitter.com/ScrapFactFarm

I : www.instagram.com/scrapfactoryfarming

Humane Being is an organisation we run as volunteers to encourage people to live in a way that is kind to animals and protects the planet and people, then supports them in taking action.

 Registered company number 11136859

We need to build a file of evidence about factory farming.  

We are looking for : 

academics, scientists, lawyers, health professionals, vets, farmers, (ex) food production industry workers, undercover investigators - anyone who can talk with credibility about the farming industry, the need to reduce meat and dairy consumption and factory farms in particular.

We are looking for expertise in all the following areas: 

Animal welfare, Antibiotic resistance, Climate change, Environment, Farm conditions, Food security, Human health, Pandemics, Pollution, Zoonotic diseases, Other related areas.

Form available on www.scrapfactoryfarming.org/legal/

We believe this is a world first challenge on a Government for failing to address the issues associated with factory farming. We can't do it without the help of people like you who feel as strongly about this as we do. We were thrilled to see our fundraiser move past this milestone. Thank you.

This week we have been contacted by organisations in Arizona, Argentina and Australia. We are building up a few key endorsers and ambassadors too. Everyone who has shared and donated is helping make this possible. Thank you.
Keep sharing please, follow us on https://www.facebook.com/ScrapFactoryFarming,  encourage others to donate as well and together we will get Factory Farming Scrapped for good - for people, the planet and animals.

We thank every donor large and small for your belief in the case and in us. We read every comment but sadly have no way of thanking you personally. Please keep helping build momentum and share if you can. Let's make 2021 the year we get Factory Farming Scrapped

As the first part of our legal challenge, our barristers have submitted a letter to EFRA demanding answers about the Government's plans for factory farming. We believe this to be the first challenge of its kind in the world. 

Thank you for your support.
Please keep sharing and donating and helping us get Factory Farming Scrapped for GOOD

Sorry we can't thank you all in person

because of the site set up - this will have to do instead!

What a start to our campaign! Thank you.

More details in the other update re the RSPCA vote

We are so grateful.  Thank you.

* GREAT NEWS ** - 2 Scrap Factory Farming members proposed a resolution to the RSPCA AGM today and it has been passed with an 88% majority! This was the resolution : That the RSPCA : a. acknowledges the serious immediate and long term issues linked to factory / intensive farming of animals and call for an end to UK based intensive animal agriculture b. joins the many scientists / organisations who are calling for a significant reduction in meat and dairy consumption in order to achieve climate crisis targets, curtail associated environmental pollution, reduce pandemic risk, protect us against antibiotic resistance, enable better global food security and banish farming systems that deny sentient, intelligent animals any sense a normal life, whilst subjecting them to painful mutilations with no anaesthetic or pain relief.