‘Vegan Vandals’ Disturb Nature Reserves With Graffiti, Get To Meet Their Pro-Meat Match Who Posted Reply
Vegans have promoted their practice in several ways like email organizations, demonstrations, and even fundraising events. But somewhere in Hertfordshire, England, one group known as “Vegan Vandals” have taken to public beauty spots to let people know about their stand against eating meat.
The Vegan Vandals have scrawled messages using marker pens on 15 sites in the area, including Broxbourne, Welwyn, and Hatfield. The vegan vigilantes indicate their signatures, “The Vegan Vandals,” on each graffiti left. Among the messages written read, “I stopped drinking cow’s milk when I realized I wasn’t a baby cow” and “not your mum, not your milk.”
Although the group may have promoted veganism, non-vegans and vegans alike slammed this behavior. Julia Witting of Stanstead Abbots confirmed that damages have been done to the nature reserves and the signs put up around. Witting, a parish councilor, also slammed the vandals, saying, “It is a great shame that they are apparently in favour of animal rights and yet they have damaged a reserve with animals.”
#veganvandals what good do you think this graffiti has done? Horrible and disgusting attitude towards society. pic.twitter.com/EFXerimTD8
— Mark Harley (@HarleyMDH) April 2, 2017
Vegan groups also did not condone the rude behavior, saying that the vigilantes are only part of a minority group within the vegan community.
A joint statement from Herts Vegetarians & Vegans, Hertfordshire Animal Rights, and Hertfordshire Chicken Save, as reported by Metro, stated that the Vegan Vandals’ act only served to promote vegan stereotypes.
“We condemn the senseless vandalism committed by The Vegan Vandals. Vandalising areas of such beauty, which are largely managed by volunteers, only serves to make people angry and perpetuate stereotypes about vegans that most of us try so hard to disprove.”
#veganvandals! pic.twitter.com/tRYq0TEF6n
— Clloid (@clloid) May 6, 2017
The statement highlighted that the Vegan Vandals do not represent the entire vegan community. Veggie Athletic, a blog about fitness and veganism, wrote in its blog that the vandals made sense in what they’re saying but agreed that graffiti on nature reserves is just not the way to promote the practice. Chalk graffiti could have been acceptable but writing in markers isn’t a responsible thing to do, according to an article about the Vegan Vandals.
The Vegan Vandals’ graffiti got everyone talking, with one pro-meat, pro-dairy man in Hetfield making sure that he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to post an argument about veganism. In the lengthy response by the unknown source, it was stated that meat is important and that “man’s evolution is because of a better diet.”
“There are no indigenous completely vegetarian countries. So it is not a natural practice,” the man’s rebuttal said in part. The man also went on to explain that deaths in the abattoir are swift and painless, compared to the wild, where animals are being torn apart by predators or die slow deaths from aging.
Incidents of vandalism in the nature reserves dated back to January, according to Hertfordshire Mercury. Police are made aware of the act and are now investigating the matter.
[Featured Image by Jack Taylor/Getty Images]
