Anger at 'deeply insulting ideological attack' Balmoral Show billboard from animal rights activists, pushing dairy farmers to go vegan
A billboard pushing cattle farmers to go vegan, placed on a main route to the Balmoral Show by an animal rights group, has been slammed as a “deeply insulting ideological attack”.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) placed the advert in a prominent position overlooking a main road through Lisburn, and in a statement announcing the move branded dairy farming “violent, wasteful and unsustainable”.
The billboard, featuring a photo of a cow with the slogan “Dairy farmers: It’s time to moove on. The future of farming is vegan.”
It overlooks Saintfield Road, a major road that’s just a few minutes away from the venue of Northern Ireland’s biggest agricultural event of the year.
With final preparations for the Balmoral Show under way ahead of its kick-off tomorrow morning, PETA confirmed the billboard is to stay up for two weeks.
Said the campaign group’s vice-president of vegan projects, Dawn Carr: “Consumers are switching to vegan milks in record numbers, and if farmers don’t want to be left in the dust they need to cut ties with the violent, wasteful and unsustainable dairy industry now.
“The future of farming is vegan, and PETA is urging dairy farmers to embrace growing crops like oats for sustainable vegan milk.”
But the TUV’s agriculture spokesman, Allister Kyle, branded the billboard “deeply insulting” as it amounts to demanding farmers “abandon an industry that has sustained rural communities in Northern Ireland for generations”.
He said: “Our farmers are the backbone of our local economy, and work tirelessly to produce some of the world’s top quality food products while upholding the highest standards of animal welfare and environmental stewardship.
“To dismiss their livelihoods with a cheap slogan is disrespectful and shows a complete disregard for the heritage and importance of our agricultural sector.
“The TUV stands firmly with our dairy farmers and their families. We will continue to defend their right to earn a living free from ideological attacks and to ensure that farming remains at the heart of Northern Ireland’s economy and identity.”
Describing the billboard as “a stunt”, DUP councillor Andrew said it is “completely out of touch with reality”.
“Our dairy farmers produce world-class food to exceptionally high standards and deserve support, not attacks from activists,” he told the News Letter.
“The reality is there are clear signs that enthusiasm for veganism has cooled in recent years, while demand for high-quality local dairy products remains strong. I suspect this billboard will do little to change that.”