The Animal Freedom Network supports and inspires community-based organising for animal freedom across the UK.
We are building a mass movement by empowering groups and individuals to become an unstoppable force for change.
To win animal freedom, we need to mobilise people in every town and city in the UK to take action.
The Animal Freedom Network:
mentors local leaders to launch community-based campaigning groups
supports groups to recruit new members and win local campaigns by providing trainings, bootcamps, and resources
holds regional and national gatherings to strategise and build power
enables mass mobilisations by connecting local groups to one another and to national campaigns.
Groups in the Network follow these guiding principles:
They take a variety of nonviolent actions to promote animal freedom and build the world we want to live in.
They treat people with kindness and empathy. Different ideas and opinions are valued, but bullying and intolerance are not.
Our history
September 2024Dorset Animal Action formed
Intended to test the possibilities of community organising, DAA was the prototype for the entire AFN network.
June 2025The AFN launched
With the success of DAA and a second group, Southampton Animal Action, the Animal Freedom Network launched to serve as a networking tool and central hub for community organising.
September 2025Ten groups joined the network
Three months after its launch, the AFN comprised ten active animal freedom communities based across the UK.
OCTOBER 2025First AFN activist bootcamp
The Animal Freedom Network held our first all day training for activists attached to AFN groups across the south coast of England.
OCTOBER 2025DAA helped win against Vogue
Activists from DAA supported CAFT USA by disrupting a Vogue after party, which convinced the company to drop fur from all of their publications.
NovemBEr 2025MBR Acres almost closed
Via the MBR Suppliers campaign, activists from across the AFN pushed the notorious puppy factory, MBR Acres, which breeds dogs for research, to close within 4 days by convincing every gas supplier in the UK to boycott it. MBR only remained open due to government intervention.
April 2026Oxford greyhound track closed
Amid national campaigning against the greyhound industry, Oxford greyhound track closed its doors due to financial issues.
April 2026DAA stopped goat exhibits
Following footage from the public showing the owners of Bournemouth Goats dragging animals by their heads, DAA moved to have the company’s council licence stripped, preventing them from exhibiting animals at public events. The campaign gained national media coverage on the BBC and the Daily Mail.
April 2026RAGE (London) helped divest Milan Fashion Week
RAGE supported CAFT USA with a week of action against fur in London. As a result of these protests, banking giant Visa cut their sponsorship of Milan Fashion Week.
May 2026AFN training guides downloaded 1,000 times
Over a thousand people have downloaded and read our free training guides.
june 2026Manchester Animal Rights (MARN) freed Rio the parrot
Following a swift pressure campaign, supported by Protect the Wild, Freedom for Animals, and others, MARN and Manchester Vegan attained custody of Rio, a parrot being held captive in a tank in a Shisha bar, and transferred him to the safety of a sanctuary.
July 2026100 people trained at AFN bootcamps
Over 100 people have attended our bootcamps on the South Coast, in the North of England, and in London, and have been trained in a variety of skills to help them become effective organisers.
JULY 2026North East Animal Rights (NEAR) ended a bird display
NEAR gained national media when they convinced a local museum to cancel an event which intended to use live birds as props.
August 2026First community-led activist training day
East Kent Animal Action became the first local animal freedom community to host its own training day for activists, inspired by the AFN's boot camps.
june 2026RAGE got national media for greyhounds
A RAGE protest in support of the AFN-led Shutdown SIS campaign against Hardrock Cafe, which partners with the greyhound racing broadcaster SIS, in central London received national media attention.
August 2026SAA ended live exports by Brittany Ferries
Following months of protests at ports, offices, and shareholders across the south coast, Southampton Animal Action, supported by Dorset Animal Action and Portsmouth Animal Liberation, secured a historic win when they convinced Brittany Ferries to end the live export of farmed animals between Ireland and France.