As I shared about in my last blog, animal rights extremists from around the world gathered in Oakland, Calif., last week for Direct Action Everywhere’s Animal Liberation Conference. The agenda included sessions and workshops on topics including “interconnections between labor rights, racial justice, women’s rights, disability rights, climate justice and animal liberation,” “what you need to know about open rescue and investigations,” civil disobedience tactics and pressure campaigning.

As always, the conference also involved extremists taking “action,” such as an “Animal Liberation March” in San Francisco, a mass protest at a poultry processing facility and a protest at a home owned by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The protests at the poultry processing facility and Newsom’s home should be particularly concerning to the animal agriculture community, as they involved the use of new tactics that are sure to be continually deployed during future protests targeting farms and plants.

The poultry processing plant protest, which went on for more than seven hours, involved parking a rented box truck at one of the plant entrances in hopes of blocking trucks carrying birds to be processed from being able to enter. According to a DXE press release, the activists “hoped to maintain the blockade of the facility for 12 hours, potentially disrupting a supply chain which notably includes [prominent restaurant and retail brands] as buyers.” A total of 11 activists chained themselves together on top of the truck and on the ground next to it using “sleeping dragon” devices (handcuffing themselves together within PVC pipes) and tubs filled with concrete. The remaining large group of activists remained on public property and chanted, gave speeches and held signs. The protest at Newsom’s home also involved a small group of activists “locking down” using the “sleeping dragon” devices.

These protests were clearly designed to emulate the activities of Animal Rebellion, who have set up “blockades” outside of facilities in the UK. The use of these devices (“sleeping dragon” and the concrete-filled tubs) make it more difficult and time-consuming for law enforcement to remove activists, allowing protests to go on for even longer and hopefully disrupt facility operations (according to press reports, the plant that was targeted was still able to operate using alternate entrances). Law enforcement officers also need to have had special training to remove them (to prevent risk of injury to the activists) and need special equipment to do so, which can cause further delays in removal.

It’s outrageous that groups like DXE would hope to disrupt the food supply chain that provides access to safe, affordable meat, poultry, dairy and eggs to the vast majority of people who enjoy consuming them. Their actions are a threat to not only the safety and security of animals, property and livelihoods, but to our nation’s food security. Please take steps today to help mitigate their efforts: Review your company’s security procedures and make sure all (including local law enforcement) are aware of the new tactics being employed.

Extremist groups up the ante in hopes of supply chain disruptions

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