A video has emerged from Australia which shows a vegan protester dressed as a cow ‘mourning’ packages of meat in a supermarket aisle.
The video was posted to Facebook on Saturday, July 6, alongside the caption, ‘Welcome to the death aisle’, and begins with the protester staring forlornly at a $6 packet of beef sausages.
The young woman then looks at the long line of meat products on display, bowing her head as if with deep sadness. It’s enough to make even the most seasoned steak eater feel a little uncomfortable.
While she conducts her macabre protest, a supermarket assistant can be seen working busily in the background, apparently unperturbed by the demonstration.
The clip concludes with the activist lying on the floor of the supermarket aisle holding a sign which read , ‘You’ve been lied to’, advising people to ‘YouTube “Dominion”‘.
This appears to be a reference to the 2018 documentary Dominion, which looks at the exploitation of animals:
Dominion uses drones, hidden and handheld cameras to expose the dark underbelly of modern animal agriculture, questioning the morality and validity of humankind’s dominion over the animal kingdom.
While mainly focusing on animals used for food, it also explores other ways animals are exploited and abused by humans, including clothing, entertainment and research.
The video was shared on Facebook by animal rights advocate, Stef Rose. At the time of writing, the clip has been shared over 9,000 times, with many people praising the activist for presenting their message in such a ‘powerful’ manner.
Rose followed up this clip by sharing stills from the footage with the following caption:
Everyone needs to watch the doco Dominion.
If you haven’t already it’s the least you can do. This is what the industry doesn’t want you to see, they don’t want you to know what they do on the daily behind the scenes, it’s the opposite of what they show you on packaging.
You deserve to know the truth and those exploited need to be heard.
As reported by 7News, this stunt was recorded at a branch of Woolworths in the southern suburbs of Perth.
7News have also reported the activist is a member of Direct Action Everywhere, a network which describes themselves as being, ‘individuals committed to taking nonviolent direct action to end the exploitation and killing of all animals’.
However, when UNILAD reached out to Direct Action Everywhere Perth for comment, a spokesperson said:
This was not Direct Action Everywhere Perth.
According to 7News, the protester was asked to leave the supermarket, and did so.
The stunt may well be well-intentioned, but let’s be clear, Remi Gaillard did it first…
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.