VEGANS IN WAKE OVER CHRISTMAS TURKEYS

GROUP’S VIGIL AFTER CITY FARM’S BIRDS KILLED

ASMALL group of vegan activists held a candlelit vigil outside a Bristol farm to mourn the death of nine turkeys slaughtered and sold for Christmas dinner.

St Werburgh’s City Farm had already been pressured into cancelling its turkey auction event after it sparked outrage among vegans, mainly on social media.

The community farm, which aims to educate the public on how their food gets from farm to plate and sustainability, holds the auction each year to to raise money for disadvantaged people in the area.

After the outcry, the farm axed the charity auction, but animal rights advocates said the farm’s intention to sell the Turkeys in time for the festive holiday was unacceptable.

Prompting a number of them to hold a “peaceful, love-based vigil to remember the lives of nine turkeys who captured their hearts”.

The vigil held on Monday evening, was attended by seven protesters who turned out to show their support for the ‘Saint Werburgh’s Nine’.

Passers-by were offered vegan mince pies by the group who stood next to a sign which read: “They wanted to live”.

Organiser and vegan activist Sarah Nicol said: “There’s a lot of anger that the turkeys are dead, but we just want people to have a peaceful outlet for their grief.”

She said their aims were to stop animals getting killed at any city farms, adding: “We’re hopeful that Bristol’s city farms can move towards being sanctuaries.

“Their goals aren’t based in slaughtering their animals, they’re based in helping and educating the public.

“So it’s a logical step to move towards becoming a sanctuary.

“The turkeys caught people’s attention because they could see them, felt that they knew them.

“They were nine individuals, rather than countless, nameless animals in a slaughterhouse.”

St Werburgh’s City farm, which sees 60,000 visitors and works with 3,500 disadvantaged people, said they would not be changing to a sanctuary.

Fierce opposition to their Turkey selling event saw the small farm receive threatening and abusive messages from vegans across the globe, diverting their employees’ time and attention.

Ultimately, the farm had to shut down their social media which resulted in the farm cafe, a separate enterprise, getting the abuse instead.

A spokesperson for the farm said in a statement: “Having listened to the views of a small section of our community, we decided not to hold our annual public turkey auction.

“However, the aims and objectives of the Farm remain unchanged and our turkeys have been sold for Christmas.

“We feel that we have an important role to play in educating people about where their food comes from so they can make an informed decision about their food choices.”