Animal rights activists have carried out a shocking protest in London – displaying a dead dog, cat and pig. Farm investigations group Viva! hung the deceased animals from butchers’ hooks with a sign reading ‘Are You an Animal Lover?’ .
It held the stunt across various London landmarks – including the London Eye, Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square.Viva! said the stunt was designed to challenge people’s perceptions of how they view animals.
The stunt marks the start of a new wave of campaigning by the organisation as it promises to use more provocative tactics to encourage people to go vegan.
It says their primary aim was to “evoke a powerful response from passersby as they were confronted with the reality that the pigs they eat are very similar to their beloved pets”.
The group defended its use of shock tactics by saying that it is important for people to see that the food they eat comes from an animal who wants to live, just like cats and dogs do.
The group’s founder, Juliet Gellatley, said attention-grabbing tactics are needed now more than ever, with factory farming becoming more prevalent in the UK and worldwide.
According to the organisation, more than one billion animals are killed for food in the UK each year, with 85 per cent of these animals spending their lives imprisoned in factory farms.
This figure, as stated on the UK Government website, includes 11 million pigs, which Viva! campaigns say “the vast majority of whom are gassed to death, causing agony as the carbon dioxide gas forms an acid on their eyes, nostrils, mouths and lungs”.
The stunt caused a stir, with some members of the public expressing their disgust.
Juliet Gellatley, said: “As a society we treat cats and dogs as part of our families but see animals such as pigs, chickens and cows as commodities. Tens of millions of people in the UK eat factory farmed animals but very few are happy to look at them dead, see how they are farmed or witness how they are killed.
“This stunt serves as a reminder that the beef burger you order or the bacon sandwich you cook isn’t a faceless ingredient; it comes from a living creature that experienced similar emotions to your beloved pets. Pigs are sensitive, emotional and highly intelligent. The only distinction between a deceased pig and a deceased cat or dog is your perception. ‘If the sight of a dead cat or dog disgusts you, that same sentiment should be applied when seeing a dead pig.”
Gellatley added the team knew the stunt would “shock” many viewers.
But she argues what is more shocking to her is “billions of animals are subjected to horrifying treatment before being massacred for human consumption”.
She added: “The abhorrent process of breeding and slaughtering sentient beings has no place in a civilised society. How can we claim to be nation of animal lovers when we engage in such moral hypocrisy? It’s time we apply the same consideration to farmed animals, as we do our pets at home.
“Not only is farming animals awful for the poor creatures who are imprisoned and killed, but it has a wider impact on the climate crisis. Humanity’s appetite for meat, dairy, fish and eggs is destroying wildlife and in doing so, threatening the lives of so many other species including our own.
“My career spans more than 30 years and I have investigated countless factory farms and have witnessed firsthand the extreme suffering that the animals endure. We must show them the same compassion we show our pets by not eating them and going vegan now.”
To find out more, go to are-you-an-animal-lover.org.
