Every year, billions of animals are confined inside intensive farming systems that deny them the opportunity to express their natural behaviours and cause intense suffering. Behind the closed doors of factory farms, animals are treated as units of production rather than living individuals.

For years, investigations, inspections and prosecutions have repeatedly uncovered breaches of animal welfare law inside British factory farms. These findings show that illegal suffering is not an isolated problem, but a recurring feature of a broken industrial system, one that prioritises maximum production over the wellbeing of animals, people and the environment.

The suffering caused by factory farming is not only physical. The animals confined within these systems are denied the choices, behaviours and connections that are fundamental to their lives. Unable to root in the earth, or scratch for food, they will never feel the sun on their backs, experience the joy of exploration or form the family and social bonds that would naturally shape their lives. Factory farming denies those within its walls not only freedom from suffering, but the opportunity to live lives that are meaningful to them. 

The cost is felt by us all

The impact is felt far beyond the walls of these farms. Factory farming is a key contributor to the climate crisis, causing substantial harm to our environment, polluting rivers and waterways with excess chemicals, and driving the loss of wildlife and biodiversity across the UK. 

As more industrial farming units are approved, rural communities are increasingly forced to live alongside the impacts of noise, odour, and pollution, while the cumulative effect of these developments continues to reshape our countryside.

Factory farming is a moral and environmental crisis which repeated governments have failed to address and the industry is still picking up speed!

A better future is possible

We believe Britain can become a world leader in creating a food system that is kind, fair and sustainable.

Ending factory farming does not mean abandoning farmers. It means supporting a just transition that helps farmers move towards producing healthy plant-based foods while restoring nature, protecting rural livelihoods and creating thriving countryside communities.

A transition to a sustainable plant-based food system would:

• dramatically reduce the suffering of billions of animals;

• cut greenhouse gas emissions and help tackle the climate crisis;

• reduce pollution in our rivers and countryside;

• free up land for woodland, wetlands and wildlife restoration;

• Improve Britain’s food security by making more efficient use of land;

• create a healthier, more resilient food system for future generations.

The longer we delay this transition, the harder these challenges become.

We call on the British Government to END this brutal system

We are calling on the UK Government to commit to ending factory farming by 2040 and to publish a clear, fully funded roadmap that makes this transition possible.

That roadmap should support farmers through a just transition, immediately halt the continued expansion of factory farming, invest in sustainable plant-based food production, restore nature, and build a food system that works for animals, people and the planet.

Britain has led transformative social and environmental change before. We can do so again.

Sign this petition and call on the Government to begin the transition away from factory farming, and towards a kinder, fairer and more sustainable future.