NAKED BODIES TO LIE IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE ON WORLD VEGAN DAY

PETA Will Ask Londoners to Spare a Thought for Animals Killed for Food

What: Nearly 100 PETA supporters will lie nearly nude in a heap in Trafalgar Square on 1 November in order to encourage passers-by to have compassion for the billions of animals who are slaughtered for their flesh as part of the meat and fishing industries every year. More volunteers will be on hand to pass out copies of PETA's vegan starter kit.

"Animals feel pain, fear, love and joy, just as humans do, yet billions of them are killed every year for products that are poisoning the environment and contributing to the UK's obesity epidemic", says PETA Director Mimi Bekhechi. "PETA is challenging people to think about the massive toll that the meat industry takes on animals, the Earth and human health – and to go vegan."

Animals raised on filthy, crowded factory farms are often caged and deprived of all that is natural and important to them, such as foraging for food and raising their young. Many are subjected to horrific mutilations, including having their teeth, tails and testicles cut off without any painkillers. Cows, pigs, chickens and sheep often have their throats cut while they're still able to feel pain.

In addition to sparing animals immense suffering on factory farms, in abattoirs and on the decks of fishing boats, vegans are less prone to suffering from heart disease, diabetes, strokes, obesity and cancer than meat-eaters are. They also have smaller carbon footprints, as the meat industry is a major producer of the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change.

Where: Trafalgar Square, North Terrace, London

When: Saturday, 1 November, 12 pm

Your coverage is invited. RSVP to Ben Williamson on +44 (0) 7525 411 733 or at BenW@peta.org.uk.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.