PHOTOS: Open-Air ‘Slaughterhouse’ in Central London Marks World Vegan Day

An eye-opening demonstration showed the way that millions of animals across the UK are killed for meat.

How many people who eat meat have actually seen what happens in slaughterhouses?

To mark World Vegan Day, we decided to open people’s eyes to the violence of the meat industry by erecting an open-air “slaughterhouse” at Marble Arch in London. In a hard-hitting performance, two men were strung up by their ankles and “abattoir workers” then appeared to slit their throats.

Scenes similar to this happen to animals in the UK thousands of times a day – only the bloodshed is real. Pigs, cows, chickens, and sheep are herded into abattoirs and shackled by their legs, and then their throats are slit and they are left to bleed to death. Although they’re supposed to be stunned first, stunning methods are often faulty or inadequate, meaning that many animals are fully conscious while they’re killed.

Cows and hens used to produce milk and eggs usually end their lives in this way, too, as farmers send them off to slaughter after a few years when they become less “productive”.

This cruelty is neither necessary nor justifiable. There’s a huge variety of delicious and healthy plant-based food available today, which means it’s easy to eat well without harming animals.

Our protest today was designed to make people think twice the next time they see a shrink-wrapped slab of meat in the supermarket and consider the sensitive living being it came from – and then to make kinder choices about the food they buy.

November is World Vegan Month – a celebration of all things vegan and the ideal opportunity for anyone disturbed by the cruelty of the meat, dairy, and egg industries to try out a compassionate plant-based diet for 30 days.

Take the World Vegan Month pledge, and we’ll send you plenty of advice and resources to help you on your way!

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