Activists against animal suffering and meat consumption
Activists against animal suffering and meat consumption AFP/Getty

Saturday saw an “open air slaughterhouse” at the Place du Palais Royal in Paris as hundreds of vegan protesters covered themselves in fake blood to protest against ‘animal suffering and meat consumption’ and took over the public square.

The animal rights activists action is part of the 269 Life campaign group’s events for the World Day for the Abolition of Meat (WWAMs), which is held every year at the end of January, May and September every year since 2009.

The 269 Life members who staged the demonstration tried to create a bloody visual impact by laying sprawled out in the square covered in red paint, but the most graphic image is that of a man suspended by his legs as two others dressed as butchers stood next to him with a rather lethal looking knife.

The protesters refer to the slaughter of all animals as a “holocaust” and claim “veganism is an essential step that any responsible and sensible person must take”. Their statement about this particular event was on their websites and they stress that their goal is “to bring the pain and horror other animals face each and every day out of the suppressed darkness and into the realm of everyday life. Most people are well aware of what is being done to other animals, and yet remain apathetic in the face of the atrocities committed in their name, even after witnessing the utmost graphic evidence.”

The group is also calling for “abolishing the production and consumption of the flesh of sentient beings”. They are also calling for the production and consumption of meat to be made illegal on “ethical grounds”.