PETA shocks Aussies by barbecuing ‘dog’ in gruesome protest

With the Australia Day long weekend just days away, animal rights organisation PETA has upped the ante in its attempt to stop people eating lamb on the national holiday, this time launching a gruesome protest in the heart of Sydney.

On Thursday, a group of PETA supporters took to the city’s Pitt Street Mall with a new stunt to turn people off meat and encourage them to go vegan. Complete with a barbecue and realistic props, they shocked onlookers by cooking what appeared to be a dead dog.

Complete with a charred body, PETA representatives poked and prodded the animal with a pair of tongs in front of shoppers to capture their attention.

“If you wouldn’t eat a dog, why eat a lamb?” a huge banner on the barbecue read.

Meanwhile, protesters held signs that read: “All animals matter. Go vegan.”

The organisation – which is against people using animals for food, entertainment, fashion and science experiments – later clarified online that the dog was in fact a prop, but stood by the controversial stunt.

“Of course, the ‘dog’ was just a prop, but the idea of barbecuing dogs rightly causes outrage amongst Australians,” a statement on PETA’s website read. “Meanwhile, millions of other equally sensitive and intelligent animals are forced to endure horrific suffering when they’re bred, raised, and killed for the meat industry.”

The group claimed many feel compassion and empathy for animals, while also being taught that it’s acceptable to enslave and eat other species.

“Many animal-free options (which are also better for your health and the environment) are available for your Australia Day barbecue,” PETA said. “This year, leave the baby body parts off the barbie and try vegan.”

The shocking stunt has divided people, with some who witnessed the dog in person claiming it upset children who were on school holidays.

“Frightening children by cooking a pet is not the answer,” one person on Twitter said. “Find a better way to get your message across that doesn’t result in nightmares for a 6yo!”

@peta stopping to new lows with their stunt in Martin Place today – terrifying children on school holiday outings by barbecuing a (very lifelike) dog. I saw some visibly upset kids #Disgraceful #stunt #PETA pic.twitter.com/iaRpDXrCDc

— The Alaskan (@cockroachBLUE) January 23, 2019

Others who claimed they were supporters of PETA said they were also traumatised by the image.

One comment on PETA Australia’s Facebook page read: “I am so offended, lost my support!”

Another said: “Despicable PETA! How low are you prepared to go?”

A third added: “What a disgrace. PETA is a joke.”

However, there were also those who agreed with the stunt.

One Twitter message said: “Face your food, face what happens to innocent animals. Their capacity to feel and suffer is the same. People need to wake up and stop thinking only themselves.”

A further comment added: “This is exactly what we need to see……as PETA founder says (and many others) a dog is a pig is a boy, we are all animals, what’s the difference, so its ok to love and spoil a doggie, but not a lambie?”

The latest stunt comes just months after PETA called for popular sayings including “Bringing home the bacon”, “killing two birds with one stone” and “let the cat out of the bag” to be banned because they’re offensive to animals.

Read more: Phrases like ‘bringing home the bacon’ could be banned over ‘offence to vegans’

Instead, the group suggested using helpful and animal-friendly phrases such as “feed two birds with one scone”, “take the flower by the thorns”, “be the test tube”, “hold the phone”, “feed a fed horse” and “open Pandora’s box” to be less offensive.

What are your thoughts on this protest? Did it go too far, or is it completely acceptable? Would you have been shocked to see this?