Naked members of the animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) impersonated cellophane-wrapped meat packages in a pro-vegan demonstration demonizing the way the meat industry treats animals in front of a Vancouver slaughterhouse.
Protesters, covered in fake blood, lay on large trays covered with plastic at the Hallmark Poultry Processors company on Commercial Drive and East Hastings Street Wednesday in an attempt to demonstrate that animals, like humans, have emotions and are made of flesh, blood and bones.
"We are trying to make the connection that slaughtering a human is appalling, but all animals have the same capacities to feel pain and terror," Emily Lavender, a campaigner for PETA, told CTV News.
"These animals don't want to die and have their throats cut while fully conscious and we want people to make a compassionate choice to go vegan."
Demonstrators distributed leaflets to passersby and displayed the organization's "Glass Walls" video exposé narrated by Sir Paul McCartney about what they call the brutal means the meat industry uses to kills billions of animals.
The activist group wants to discourage Canadians from eating meat through a website featuring tips and recipes for an animal-friendly vegetarian diet.
Organizers will move the protest to Victoria on Thursday.
PETA is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 that has launched numerous controversial campaigns and undercover investigations around the world on issues such as fur farming, animal testing, factory farming, animals in entertainment, animal slaughtering, and bullfighting.
