Our work
Four programmes. One engine for a mass movement.
Everything we do builds the power of the UK animal freedom movement from the ground up: growing local groups, developing grassroots leaders, catalysing campaigns that win, and getting the whole movement pulling in the same direction.
Animal Freedom NetworkLocal power, nationally connected.27 local groups · AFN app installed 100+ times in its first weekWe establish and support local, community-led groups as centres of campaigning and mobilisation. We work directly with local leaders to start or strengthen groups, equip them with campaign tools and mentorship, and connect them through shared infrastructure, digital platforms and coordinated moments of action. These groups lead winnable campaigns rooted in their area, while forming the backbone of a national network ready to act together at scale. Visit the Animal Freedom Network →
Movement Impact NetworkThe whole movement, pulling together.15+ organisations so farGrassroots power is only half the picture. We're bringing leaders from across the UK animal movement together into a values-aligned network with a shared direction, spanning grassroots, legal, cultural and institutional work. Every organisation keeps its autonomy. Together, 15+ organisations so far are gaining the coordination to turn fragmented activity into movement-level power.
Mass Leadership DevelopmentA movement led by many, not a few.100+ activists trained · 2,000+ guide downloadsLasting movements need leaders with clarity, confidence and connection. We identify and develop organisers who can sustain local groups, lead campaigns and build strategic capacity. Through bootcamps, mentoring and a practical resource library, we're building a distributed leadership model that enables growth without dependency.
Campaign LabCampaigns that win and build.15 organisations behind For All AnimalsCampaigns are how we grow support, build pressure and deliver change. We incubate emotionally resonant, winnable “gateway” campaigns that bring new people in, support local–national coordination, and come with adaptable toolkits for local groups. Our flagship is For All Animals.
Our programmes
How we build power.
What it adds up to
A movement ready for the moments that matter.
Together, these four programmes equip the movement to:
Respond rapidly to trigger eventsMoments like the killing of Cecil the Lion (2015), the police assault on Beau the Calf (2024) and Animal Rising's 2024 RSPCA investigation sparked public outrage but lacked coordinated mobilisation. We're building the infrastructure to turn these moments into movement momentum.
Seize political and cultural openingsWins like the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act (2022) matter, but without grassroots pressure they stall. We're developing the power to turn openings like these into real protections for animals.
Generate the pressure for systemic changeLike the Hunting Act (2004) and the live exports ban (2024), transformational victories come from mass mobilisation. We're laying the groundwork to win the next ones.
In practice
Where it's already working.
For All Animals
For All Animals is our flagship campaign: 15 organisations, backed by Joanna Lumley, Chris Packham and Brian May, calling on the RSPCA to stop certifying factory farms.
In October 2026 its investigation of a flagship M&S supplier made national news. RSPCA Assured withdrew the farm's approval and M&S stopped sourcing from it.
Where it started. In 2024 we launched For Charlie, a movement-wide campaign demanding the RSPCA drop its Assured scheme, widely criticised for concealing farmed animal cruelty. Sparked by Animal Rising's 2024 investigation of 37 RSPCA Assured farms, it gathered an open letter signed by over 170 individuals and organisations (including vets, former RSPCA board members, Joanna Lumley, Ricky Gervais and Bryan Adams, and over 60 pro-animal organisations) and a short film by BAFTA-winning director Alex Lockwood telling the story of Charlie the pig.
The campaign secured mass media coverage and led to Sir Brian May's resignation as an RSPCA Vice President, putting a national spotlight on welfare-washing. Just as importantly, it brought activists and organisations together, built the movement's capacity to seize opportunities, and laid the groundwork for For All Animals.
We launched Dorset Animal Action (DAA) in July 2024 as a pilot local group to revitalise grassroots organising in the UK animal freedom movement. By uniting fragmented activist groups and maximising local community recruitment, it offered a scalable model for community-led activism and laid the foundations for a mass national movement.
Since its launch, DAA has grown to 40+ active members and created a WhatsApp community of over 200 activists across more than 20 sub-groups. It has launched effective local campaigns, including a Bournemouth Oceanarium pressure campaign with regular protests, stunts, and a petition that reached 1,000 signatures in two weeks. The group has also become a key player in the MBR Suppliers campaign. DAA has attracted significant media attention through its actions, including multiple front-page features in the Bournemouth Echo and national coverage on the BBC and in the Daily Mail.
Following the success of DAA, we replicated the model and launched Southampton Animal Action (SAA). SAA now has 50+ active members, and over 240 activists in their WhatsApp Community. They have been incredibly active in supporting national campaigns, and have launched several of their own. In September 2026, they convinced Brittany Ferries to end the live export of farmed animals, sending the Irish dairy industry into turmoil.
Using in-person trainings, digital resources, and proof of concept, we have continued to roll out this form of community organising across the UK. We currently have 27 animal freedom communities active across the country.
As the model grows, DAA and SAA remain thriving, vibrant proving grounds for trying and testing new and emerging approaches to community organising.
As animal freedom communities expand across the UK, we launched the Animal Freedom Network to help them grow, communicate, and work together.
The network hosts regional ‘bootcamps’ across the UK to help people become activists and activists become organisers. So far, over 100 people have been trained through these events.
We have developed a resource library of 20+ training guides for activists, which have been downloaded over 2,000 times, with 3,000 physical copies printed and distributed.
In late September 2026 we held the first national animal freedom gathering: three days at Brook Farm Animal Sanctuary with 50 advocates, organisers and campaigners from across the network. Veteran activists shared lessons from decades of UK grassroots campaigning; workshops covered running pressure campaigns, researching targets, keeping each other safe and telling stories that shift public opinion; and organisers from the network’s most active local groups shared their wins. People left determined to step up and lead locally, and a save-the-date for next year’s gathering is coming soon.
The AFN also has a dedicated WhatsApp community for local organisers to connect, share actions, and plan future ones on a national scale.
As the AFN grows, it will ultimately become a completely autonomous entity, with Project Phoenix playing an increasingly supportive rather than sustaining role. Decision-making is carried out by a dedicated core team comprising active local organisers from across the UK.
Movement Impact Network
Grassroots power is only half the picture. In 2026, Project Phoenix brought leaders from across the UK animal movement together to explore a big question: could the movement align and coordinate far more deeply, without anyone giving up their independence?
What emerged was the beginning of a values-aligned impact network. It's deliberately informal, flexible and non-centralised. Every organisation keeps full autonomy, with a shared intention to align and coordinate more closely. More than 15 organisations are now part of it, spanning grassroots, legal, cultural and institutional work.
Why it matters. Animal freedom is a complex systems challenge, not a single campaign, and winning it needs many strategies working together. Right now the movement is imbalanced: a strong inside game, weaker outside pressure, and too little of that pressure turned into lasting change. The network is our bet on fixing that, shifting the movement from fragmented activity to coordinated, movement-level power.
What's next. Members are now working together on a shared direction and the milestones to get there. We don't know exactly where it leads, but there is a real opportunity to build something that increases the movement's ability to act together, build power and win.
