Labrador steaks, leg of Greyhound, Afghan burgers, Dachshund sausages, Beagle chops, Chihuahua poppers…these are just some of the exotic meats being promoted at the new organic and free-range dog meat catering trailer that will set up shop at the edge of Sheffield’s Farmers Market.

When: 12 noon, Thursday 25 November

Where: Farmers Market, Barkers Pool, opposite Sheffield City Hall

Contact on day: Pat Smith, 07870 861837 or Jez Dean, 07910425393

Featuring pictures of happy healthy dogs running through fields, chasing balls and swimming in streams, and the words ‘organic’ and ‘free-range’, the trailer will be offering dog meat to the public, with the assurance that all the animals were loved and well cared for before being butchered.

…And that’s when the unpleasant truth lying behind Sheffield Animal Friends’ initiative is spelt out.

Whether organic, free-range, corn-fed or rested on the finest mattresses, at the end of the day it’s all the same for animals farmed for their flesh. They all end up in the same slaughterhouses; they are all alone and terrified; they are all hung upside down by their hind legs and all end up bleeding to death.

Routine abuse has been documented, by national campaign group Animal Aid, and others, at slaughterhouses throughout the country, with animals being kicked, stamped on and improperly stunned before having their throats slit. The ‘dog meat’ stall will attempt to engage the public in a discussion about the way animals raised for food are killed and why certain animals are deemed unworthy of our compassion while others are treated as part of the family. Stall visitors will also be given free background literature.

Says Campaigner Pat Smith, who will be manning the dog meat stall:

‘Most people eat different parts of various animals every day, without thinking too deeply about what those animals’ last moments were like. We hope that this will get people to confront the fact that, at the end of the line, all of these animals died with the smell of blood and fear in their nostrils and terror in their eyes, and yet they are no different from the millions of dogs who we, as a nation, dote on.’

The dog meat trailer has been making its way around the country, stopping at markets in 14 cities, as part of Animal Aid’s annual Vegan Month promotion. *

Ends

* Vegan Month is an annual initiative that aims to encourage people to think about their food choices and question why some animals are loved and taken into our homes, whilst others are farmed and exploited for their flesh, milk and eggs.

Notes to Editors