By Jake George
Animal rights activitists protested in the city centre donning their infamous Guy Fawkes masks for “International Cube Day.”
Anonymous for the Voiceless held TV screens showcasing videos of animal abuse and interacting with members of the public, raising awareness for animal rights on their international day of action.
The activists stopped people in the street on Long Row trying to engage them people in conversation.
Pauli, 57, a vegan of nine years from Greece, was one of the campaigners.
She said: “It’s all disgraceful.
“This is important to me because I don’t think you can claim to love animals as well as eat them.
“It’s the hypocrisy that annoys me”.
Anonymous for the Voiceless is a not-for-profit organisation founded in Melbourne, Australia that wants to end all forms of animal exploitation, using conversation and footage to make their argument.
But they are not without their critics, with fellow vegan groups, such as Meat is Weird, criticising them for oversimplifying issues, being dogmatic and displaying cultish behaviour.
This alongside the videos they show depicting animal abuse and other distressing imagery in a public space can explain why they are unpopular even with other veg lovers.
In response to the videos being displayed, passer-by David, 31, said: ” I’ve never seen this before, this is the first time I’ve seen such videos.
“It’s bad, most people just eat meat and don’t think.
“I will try to eat less meat, but I eat it because it is cheaper.”
This is a commonly held belief, but as activist Stella, 40, added: ” It’s a lot easier to be vegan now.
“But it doesn’t just include meat, it’s also clothing and makeup.”
An Oxford study from 2021 also discovered that vegan and flexitarian diets were more affordable and healthier than meat-based alternative diets.