McDonald's distribution centre in Heywood blockaded by protesters

Date published: 24 May 2021

The McDonalds distribution centre in Heywood was blockaded on Saturday (22 May) by protesters from Animal Rebellion who are demanding that McDonald’s commits to going fully plant-based by 2025.

Protesters used trucks and bamboo structures to stop lorries from leaving the four distribution centres in Heywood, Coventry, Hemel Hempstead and Basingstoke that supply McDonalds stores across the country.

The blockade in Heywood began at 4.30am on Saturday morning and pictures from the Heywood site off Hareshill Road show one protester dressed as Ronald McDonald standing in stocks with a sign saying 'I'm Sorry'.

Animal Rebellion said it was protesting to 'bring an end to the misery of fast food as it creates obesity, destroys the Amazon and warms up the planet'.

According to its twitter account, Animal Rebellion is a mass volunteer movement using non-violent civil disobedience to help the transition to a plant-based food system.

The group says that the action on Saturday had disrupted about 1,900 lorries.

"The meat and dairy industry is destroying our planet: causing huge amounts of rainforest deforestation, emitting immense quantities of greenhouse gases and killing billions of animals each year,” said James Ozden, a spokesperson for Animal Rebellion.

"The only sustainable and realistic way to feed ten billion people is with a plant-based food system.

"Organic, free-range and 'sustainable' animal-based options simply aren't good enough."