Among the offerings on the banner were Pug bacon – but all was not as it seemed
An apparent ‘dog meat’ stall set up in Bristol city centre(Image: Facebook/submitted)
Shoppers in Bristol city centre were left shocked when they walked past what appeared to be a food stall – claiming to sell ‘organic dog meat’.
The large banner appeared today, May 3, outside the NatWest bank in Broadmead, claiming to promote a butchers called Elwood’s Organic Dog Meat, selling “free-range” dog meat from pooches that were “local and loved”, and had been “humanely slaughtered”.
Among the offerings on the banner were Pug bacon, costing £7 per 250g, Corgi legs, listed at £5 per 500g, and even a whole Chihuahua, allegedly for £24.
One passer-by was stopped in their tracks and left “disgusted” by what she saw, asking: “How is this even allowed in Bristol city centre?”.
However, all was not what it seemed. The banner featured a QR code through to a website for Elwood’s Organic Dog Meat – which turns out to be a vegan campaign group, aiming to highlight the “ethical hypocrisy” of being appalled by eating dogs, but continuing to eat the likes of cow, pig, or sheep products.
While the website initially seems to promote “sustainably raised dog meat” and dogs being “bred for food”, once you scroll further down the page, it then encourages reducing or eliminating all animals from our diets.
The website’s homepage reads: “Why do you feel one way about dogs and another way about pigs, an animal that is actually smarter than a dog? (If you’re feeling discomfort or reaching for excuses as you read this, it’s totally normal. Most people don’t want to think about this at all.)
“The truth is, most of the animals you consume are just like dogs in all the ways that matter. Cows are social and complex. Pigs are gentle with surprising intelligence. Chickens are intelligent and sensitive to the welfare of their peers. Sheep are peaceful and can pick up emotional cues in humans.
“Elwood’s Organic Dog Meat isn’t real, but we hope you’ll think about any anger it caused. Consider what it’d mean to open your heart to the idea that so-called “food animals” are just as worthy of love and kindness – and maybe that there is no such thing as an ‘animal meant for food’.”
After taking the time to peruse the website, the shopper in Bristol conceded that the company made a clever – if not “disgusting” – point.
She said: “My son scanned the QR Code and saw it is an American-based company. I then started researching the size of a cow’s brain and their emotions/intelligence towards humans, in comparison to a dog. Obviously a very clever, if disgusting, point they made.”
In fact, it is not the first time that Elwood’s Organic Dog Meat has given shoppers pause for thought in Bristol. Last summer, the same pop-up stall appeared at the same spot in Broadmead, leaving shoppers baffled.
On that occasion, the food stall turned out to be handing out free samples of tofu – but this didn’t stop some irate shoppers from demanding to know how the so-called butchers went about humanely slaughtering a dog.
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