St Helen’s,
THIS IS OUR REQUEST.
On July 27th 2020, we released Dismantle Dairy: Phase 2 - St Helen's Goat Milk.
St Helen’s is the biggest goat milk company in the UK, and our investigation revealed the horrific brutality that goats are forced to endure in order for consumers to purchase St Helen's 'gentle goat milk'.
Our investigation broke in The Independent, with 4 follow up articles so far, and consistent exposure on the homepage of the website for 5 days. We’ve had international press coverage including an interview on the BBC, as well as TV2, a television channel in Norway (where St Helen's parent company is located).
Since our investigation broke, almost all UK supermarkets have suspended St Helen's and cancelled all of their orders from them.
St Helen’s have since stated that because their business has been cut off, they may have to close the farm where the footage was taken from.
At Surge, since hearing this we have secured safe sanctuary spaces for almost 200 of the goats and through our work with Refarm’d in helping farmers transition from animal farming to plant farming, we are also fully at the ready to help St Helen's transition from goat milk to oat milk farming.
We also have the option of working with St Helen's to turn the already existing infrastructure into a vertical farming unit - and we have two vertical farming companies available to help set up vertical farms in the former goat buildings.
We also currently have this petition going, which now was over 45,000 signatures, demanding that St Helen's release the goats into safe, sanctuary care.
On August 4th, 2020 we published an open letter to St Helen’s in an exclusive in The Independent. Our open letter, which can be read below, is co-signed by Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Kate Mara, Harley Quinn Smith, Leona Lewis, Chris Smalling, Alicia Silverstone, Lucy Watson, Evanna Lynch, Peter Egan and Alexandra Paul. Furthermore, Leona Lewis is requesting that St Helen’s release a number of the goats to her sanctuary, Hopefield Animal Sanctuary.
We are asking St Helen’s to please, do the right thing & allow 200 of the goats to live out the rest of their lives in peace.
“The footage taken at Far Marsh Farm is incredibly harrowing and upsetting, and as soon as I saw Surge’s campaign to re-home as many of the goats as possible, I immediately wanted to help and provide a home for as many of the goats as I can at Hopefield Animal Sanctuary.
So I’m asking St Helen’s to do the right thing and accept our offer to give these goats the life that they deserve and change their farm from a goat dairy to a plant based farm instead, ensuring that no other animal will suffer there again.”