Vegan extremists plaster meat packets with graphic stickers in Aussie supermarkets

ANIMAL rights activists have resorted to guerilla tactics to spread their anti-meat message — but have they gone too far?

VEGAN activists have covered meat products with disturbing anti-meat stickers in some of the country’s biggest supermarket chains.

Many of the stickers, which have been spotted on meat for sale at some Woolworths and Coles stores, resemble the confronting health warnings found on cigarette packages.

One features a photo of a diseased foot with the caption: “Meat consumption causes diabetes” while another has a photo of what appears to be heart surgery accompanied by the text: “Meat consumption causes heart disease”.

Others come with a strong animal rights message.

This sticker was seen on some lamb sold at Coles. Picture: Facebook

One sticker, which includes a distressing photo of a dead cow, comes with the slogan: “You can’t regulate violence. You can only abolish it” while another asks: “How can you be an animal lover and eat dead animals?” Both also include the pro-vegan website SavePoppy.com.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the global vegan group Anonymous for the Voiceless is responsible for the propaganda campaign.

The group’s website claims it is “an animal rights organisation that specialises in street activism” which has carried out more than 2016 demonstrations in 376 cities and 56 countries.

The group holds “an abolitionist stance on animal exploitation”.

This sticker was plastered on Coles chicken breast fillets. Picture: Facebook

The Daily Telegraph spoke with Kaj McBeth who said he had helped produce the stickers, but denied placing them on the meat products.

“The way I look at it, I am not doing anything illegal,” Mr McBeth told the publication. “Whether people want to stick them in places is up to them, I am happy to facilitate that choice if you choose to make it.”

While the stickers were found in only several stores, neither Coles or Woolworths have taken kindly to the guerilla tactics, with both supermarket chains reportedly contacting police over the stickers.

Unsurprisingly, the sticker campaign has divided the public.

While it has been controversial among meat eaters, many vegans defended the message behind them.

What about polluting our environment and hurting our animal friends? Sorry that’s acceptable but stickers aren’t. Sorry slaughter isn’t seen as extreme but animal rights activism somehow is. I’m sorry the graphic pictures are the problem and not the violent act itself. https://t.co/FqFLkhkXsk

— Catherine Gill (@theDirtyVegan) January 16, 2018

But a NSW Farmers Association spokesman told The Daily Telegraph the stickers were spreading misinformation.

“Farmers in NSW adhere to the world’s best-practice animal welfare standards, and incorporating meat into a healthy, balanced diet is also recommended as part of the Australian Dietary Guidelines,” he said.

According to Roy Morgan research, in 2016 2.1 million Australians identified as complete or almost complete vegetarians, while almost 9.9 million of us are “eating less red meat these days”.

Both Coles and Woolworths have been contacted for comment.

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