Photos: Meat Plant COVID-19 Cases Prompt Hazmat-Suit Protest at Leinster House
For Immediate Release:
10 July 2020
Contact:
Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]
John Carmody 087 239 1646
Photos: Meat Plant COVID-19 Cases Prompt Hazmat-Suit Protest at Leinster House
With Spread of Virus Linked to Meat Industry, PETA Urges People to Protect Workers and Animals by Going Vegan
Dublin – A group of PETA supporters descended on Leinster House today, when representatives of the meat industry addressed the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response about the large number of COVID-19 cases among its workers. Clad in hazmat suits, the protesters reminded people that the meat trade is harmful to workers, animals, and public health – and called on the public to stop supporting this toxic industry by going vegan.
Photos from the action are available here and here. Video is available here.
“Not only are meat-processing plants and abattoirs places of death for animals, they also facilitate the spread of COVID-19 among workers,” says PETA Director Elisa Allen. “No one needs meat. PETA stands ready with free vegan starter kits to empower people to stay healthy, protect our communities, and help prevent future pandemics.”
The action follows reports that abattoirs and meat-processing plants – where workers must labour at a fast pace in close proximity to one another in a cold, dark environment – have emerged as hotspots for the transmission of COVID-19. The spread of infection in Ireland has been among the worst in Europe, with over 1,110 confirmed cases across at least 20 clusters in meat-industry facilities.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – also notes that deadly outbreaks of mad cow disease, swine flu, avian flu, SARS, HIV, foot-and-mouth disease, and other zoonotic diseases have stemmed from capturing or farming animals for food. The novel coronavirus originated in a Chinese “wet market”, where live and dead animals were sold for human consumption.
PETA opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information or to order a free vegan starter kit, please visit PETA.org.uk.
#