A World first legal challenge against Factory Farming

We approached renowned human rights QC Michael Mansfield (we have has a philosophy that if you don’t ask you don’t get) and were delighted when he said he would take the case. Michael is best known for cases like Hillsborough and Grenfell Towers and will be supported by barristers Philip Rule and Lorna Hackett It’s a powerful team and we could not be better represented

After months of planning and researching we launched with a letter from our barristers to George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ( We built on the horrors of Covid, the recent Avian flu outbreaks and the irrefutable science We aimed to show that pandemic risk is here and now and the Government must Scrap Factory Farming to protect us all

The response from EFRA was poor and we filed for a judicial review We are hoping to raise 60 000 to cover legal fees We want to help animals, protect people and the planet and leave a legacy that shifts perspectives This is that chance.

We believe that in failing to (1) properly assess,(ii) inform the public about, and/or (iii) act against these clear risks to human health, the Defendant is in breach of his positive obligations under Articles 2 3 and 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (“ to protect the right to life, freedom from inhumane treatment, and respect for private life and acts unlawfully in violation of section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA”)

To summarise, the grounds for review include irrationality (failure to rationally act) and Violation of the positive obligations in Articles 2,3 and 8 of the ECHR.

Requires the state to take positive measures to prevent, or to avert, a risk (which it knows or ought to know) of the violation of the right to life e.g. deaths causes due to a future pandemic.

Obliges the state to take reasonable measures to prevent ill treatment of which the authorities knew or ought to have known e.g. the state’s readiness to investigate systemic issues such as the impact of factory farming on climate change, which could consequently impact on the physical and psychological health of individuals

Which affirms that the states is under obligation to ensure, for persons within their jurisdiction, effective respect for private life which includes the physical and psychological integrity of a person e.g. to prevent polluting emissions or other environmental impacts of factory farming which could impact on the health of the population.