Animal rights activists set to demonstrate against meat eaters in Shrewsbury
Animal rights activists are set to take to the streets in Shrewsbury tomorrow challenging the public to reconsider their treatment of animals, particularly when it comes to consuming meat.
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Members of PETA, who claim to be the largest animal rights organisation in the world, and whose motto reads that “animals are not ours to eat”, will lead a demonstration at The Square from 12pm.
As Veganuary continues - a campaign that encourages people to try a vegan diet during this month - activists will voice their opinion that there is "no difference" between serving up bird wings as opposed to chicken.
The protest is titled: "Chicken or Kingfisher? PETA to Point Out There’s No Difference by Serving Up Bird ‘Wings’."
A spokesperson for the animal rights organisation said: "If you wouldn’t eat the wings of a swan or kingfisher, why eat a chicken’s wings? That’s the food for thought PETA supporters will be dishing out as 'Veganuary' gets underway in Shrewsbury".
The organisation also claimed that the county town is "home to one of the densest concentrations of intensive chicken farms in Europe", that it said is a "major contributor to deadly river pollution and wildlife destruction".
The demonstration in Shrewsbury will feature a menu of bird-based dishes including kingfisher, heron, swan, and cormorant.
PETA Senior Campaigns Manager, Kate Werner said: "Chickens recognise their friends, talk to their unhatched babies, and fiercely defend their chicks, and they don’t want to be sliced up and eaten any more than kingfishers, swans, or we do.
"Pollution from massive chicken farms is poisoning the River Wye and Severn, and in turn river birds, so PETA urges anyone horrified by the thought of killing kingfishers and crows to do all birds a favour by leaving animals off their plates."
PETA claimed that chickens can "distinguish among the faces of more than 100 other chickens" and communicate with "at least 24 unique vocalisations".
A spokesperson for the animal rights organisation added: "Like swans and many other wild birds, they roost together and have complex social hierarchies.
"Yet chickens killed for their flesh are crammed by the tens of thousands into filthy sheds, where they’re forced to live in their own waste - and the runoff from these operations pollutes the environment and poisons local wildlife, including kingfishers.
"At slaughterhouses, chickens’ throats are often cut while they’re still conscious, and many are scalded to death in de-feathering tanks."
