Fury at Holocaust protest on animal slaughter

Published on Thursday 10 June 2004 01:37

IGNORING the prospect of arrest, an animal rights group sparked outrage yesterday by comparing the slaughter of farm animals to the human misery inflicted by the Holocaust.

Politicians and Jewish leaders attacked as a "publicity stunt" a protest organised by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) at which the activists unfurled banners and placards in George Square depicting victims of the Nazi atrocities alongside animals.

The demonstration, which PETA claims will educate Glaswegians to the pain and suffering endured by captive animals, was banned by Glasgow City Council.

However, officers from Strathclyde Police, after a brief word with organisers, allowed the "Holocaust on Your Plate" protest to go ahead.

The group claim that every hour, 12 million animals are slaughtered for food in Europe - the same number that perished during the Holocaust.

The controversial campaign was devised by Matt Prescott, a Jew who lost family members in the Nazi death camps. Andrew Butler, the campaign co-ordinator for PETA, defended the shock tactics.

He said: "Animals are flesh and blood just as we are. They feel pain and stress, loneliness and boredom and indeed have the capacity to feel joy - but we disregard all of that for a tasty burger. We need to learn lessons from history and draw parallels with modern life.

"This exhibition comes from the writings of Holocaust survivors and Jewish scholars who have made this exact comparison. If you’re uncomfortable with the comparison being made here, the next time a Holocaust survivor says they were treated like an animal, then you must disagree with them."

Mr Butler was recently arrested in London after police enforced a ban imposed on the protest. Similar campaigns in Birmingham and the US have also met banning orders.

Glasgow’s Jewish community reacted angrily to the campaign. Gerald Levin, the president of Garnethill Synagogue, said: "I’m horrified. I think it’s pretty sick to compare the suffering of people herded off to death camps with animals."

Dr Kenneth Collins, the president of the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council, said: "The Jewish community will not be alone in finding this demonstration to be outrageous. It will cause hurt and upset."

Labour MP Jim Murphy, a vegetarian whose Eastwood constituency in the south of Glasgow is home to 80 per cent of Scotland’s Jewish community, attacked the protest.

He said: "This is a disgusting insult to all those murdered by the Nazis. No-one can equate eating meat with the darkest period in human history."

He added: "This group should never be forgiven for the sickening symbolism of these images."

Before the lunchtime protest, a spokesman for Glasgow City Council described George Square as a "wholly inappropriate" location for the demonstration.

He said: "The organisers themselves seem keen to court controversy and are happy to boast of how cities such as London and Birmingham have banned their activities."