There was drama at a Waitrose meat aisle as vegans staged a protest to complain about the increasing number of turkey slaughtered during Christmas. The 18-strong group formed a human barricade while they held plates covered in blood and held placards saying’Humane murder is a lie’ in Brighton supermarket's store. Shoppers were treated to a scene that lasted minutes as they kept saying ‘ you can’t shop in peace when you’re buying death’
The Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) group walked into the store with placards written ‘Its not food, its violence’. Some also carried along flowers for the dead animals being sold at the store. The group stormed a steakhouse in Brighton to play animal slaughter noises to diners in early December. Some of its leading members include the daughter of a millionaire meat merchant.
The previous day they had staged another protest where they stood in an impenetrable line trying to block shoppers from reaching packs of meat in Waitrose, East Sussex.
One of the protesters held a loudspeaker and pleaded with the shoppers saying
‘Animals are not things. Lives are not commodities. It's time to end these cruel and bloody traditions. Take the death off your plate this Christmas.
’'This Christmas time you might be worried about what presents to buy and how to organize family get-togethers, but the animals are facing carnage.
'Around ten million turkeys are slaughtered this time of year so they can end up on your Christmas table in the United Kingdom.
'Catching and transporting birds can cause considerable pain and distress.
'Many birds may be injured whilst being removed from sheds and put into crates. Poor handling frequently results in bruising, skin grazing and broken blood vessels.
'Loaded into trucks, piled next to their friends and not knowing where they are headed, no chance of escape.
'Transport to slaughter can be long with birds experiencing extremes of temperature, stress suffocation, and shock.'
The police eventually arrived and ended the protests even though no arrests were made.A spokesperson for Waitrose commented, 'We pride ourselves on exceptional animal welfare, with our turkeys farmed to high standards at farms we know and trust.'He added that Waitrose prides itself as a holder of compassion in world Farming’s retailer of the year and also tops the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare.
DxE is an international animal rights group with several subgroups in the Uk. They pride themselves in doing things that denormalize activities that involve animal exploitation through non-violent disruption.
Member Morgan Kayleigh Giampaolo is the daughter of American businessman David Giampaolo, who runs Pi Capital and is Chairman of Gousto, where customers can buy steak, sausage, and lamb.
