An animal rights activist group came under fire on Good Morning Britain following a protest which saw them pouring out bottles of milk.
Animal Rebellion activists were filmed in Harrods department store in London, emptying the contents of milk bottles onto the shop floor. A member of the group appeared on the ITV morning show to defend the stunt after some branded it “hypocritical”.
In a segment asking “are animal activists hypocrites?”, radio presenter Cristo Foufas criticised the protest. “I think it screams of this middle-class entitlement - ‘oh, let’s go for a jaunt to London to Harrods in the sunshine and pour milk everywhere to make the point that dairy is wasteful’,” he said.
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While the presenter admitted that he thought Animal Rebellion has “some fair points about the misery of the dairy industry”, he added that “when you carry out stunts like this, you lose members of the public - and it’s frankly moronic.”
However, Animal Rebellion co-founder Dan Kidby told GMB host Charlotte Hawkins that he “completely stands by” the action. “When we’re talking about eight pints of milk, which I think is how many were poured out, compared to the complete devastation and catastrophe of our entire ecosystems and living world…” he said.
But Cristo quickly interrupted to say, “a protest that has lost you supporters is not a successful protest”.
Host Adil Ray went on to point out that causing disruption was a huge element of landmark protests, comparing it to the actions taken by the suffragette movement. “We are talking about it, to be fair - he’s having his say,” he said. “There might be somebody at home who doesn’t know anything about it.”
The actions of the animal rights activists also divided opinion on social media. “Stupid stunt any day but especially in the middle of a national crisis!” one person said.
“Creating more work for cleaners on a low wage doesn’t strike me as the ‘right side of history’,” a second Twitter user argued.
But another said: “Total solidarity with Animal Rebellion. And the argument a stunt like this ‘loses supporters’ is just untrue - the tactics may be debated but people do not suddenly stop believing in the necessity to tackle the climate crisis because someone sits in a road.”
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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