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Vegan animal rights activists barricaded a supermarket meat aisle and laid memorial flowers on dead turkeys

turkey vegan waitrose
  • Vegan and animal rights protesters put a meat aisle under siege in a branch of UK supermarket Waitrose on Sunday afternoon.
  • The group, called Direct Action Everywhere, blocked shelves of packaged meat and put flowers on them to mourn their deaths.
  • A woman with a megaphone was heard telling customers: "Take the death off your plate this Christmas," in a video the group posted to Facebook.
  • To caption the video they wrote: "This direct action shines a light on the forgotten victims of this festive season, the turkeys. You cant shop in peace when youre buying death."
  • Sussex Police say they were called, but no arrests were made.

Vegan anti-meat protesters blocked the meat aisle of a UK supermarket on Sunday, and laid flowers on meat products to mark their deaths.

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18 protesters blocked shelves at the Waitrose supermarket in Brighton, on England's south coast.

During the demonstration, a woman with a megaphone walked around scolding customers describing poor treatment of turkeys, a Facebook video from the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere's (DxE) Brighton wing shows .

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The group had placed flowers on top of meat packages, symbolizing their deaths.

The leader is filmed telling shoppers: "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."

As protesters stood firm in front of the meat, shoppers jostled their way between them, one eyeing up a steak right in front of a protester.

"Turkeys are slaughtered between nine and 21 weeks old, their natural lifespan is 10 years," the woman with the megaphone told onlooking shoppers.

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The group then moved outside the supermarket and was filmed chanting: "Their bodies. Not Ours. Their Lives. Not Ours."

To caption the video of Sunday's protest, posted on Monday, they wrote: "This direct action shines a light on the forgotten victims of this festive season, the turkeys. You cant shop in peace when youre buying death."

Direct Action Everywhere is an international animal rights group which organizes protests and campaigns against various retailers.

When asked about the protest, Waitrose told INSIDER: "We pride ourselves on exceptional animal welfare, with our turkeys farmed to high standards at farms we know and trust."

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Waitrose also noted that they are in the top tier of the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare.

Sussex Police said they were called to the store at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday, where 18 people were demonstrating.

After commencing their action inside the store, the group moved outside. There were no arrests, they told the Daily Mail.

INSIDER has contacted Sussex Police and Direct Action Everywhere for comment, but has recieved no response.

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