Diners at a branch of KFC were targeted by a vegan protestor who urged them to stop eating meat. Tarion Partridge played a video which reportedly showed chickens in a gas chamber.
She went into the restaurant in the centre of Leicester carrying a screen that she said was playing images of conditions inside chicken farms. Tarion, 24, also approached diners and spoke to them about how the process of producing the meat they were eating was cruel.
But her tactics received a cold welcome from staff and customers, reports LeicestershireLive. Tarion wasn't fazed by the reaction, or the fact that staff told her not to film inside the restaurant, despite being met with laughter by some customers. You can get more Welsh news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Tarion posted the video on YouTube, revealing that she was met with hostility and saying that the restaurant "smells like death". The controversial footage has split opinion as to whether her protests were justified. You can read the full story by clicking here.
Mike Busby's comments about the story on social media proved particularly engaging, with his opinion attracting over 100 responses and reactions both in favour and against. He said: "Good on her. The chicken industry is absolutely barbaric. Well done her for having the guts to stand up and highlight this. People need to know and understand the cruelty that they're paying for".
But not everyone agreed. Aimee Goatley said: "Not everyone is a vegan. Freedom of choice & all that, just find it hilarious how vegans try to force the rest of us to be vegan, yet yous would be first to complain about your right to choose if non-vegans did the same".
Other highlighted the "hostility" she claimed to have received was warranted to a degree. Kelvin Barker said "She was “met” with hostility, she was the one who started this, so, SHE showed hostility to people going about their business, and was given the same privilege." Kate Jay was quick to defend the vegan activist though, arguing: "It's people who pay for animals to be unnecessarily slaughtered who started this.
Jeff Watts lightened the mood a little, however: "On the flip side, I visited our greengrocers and started ranting and raving about the way parsnips are treated! I also got told where to go".
But Dave Crooke backed Tarion's actions, saying: "Well done sister, it's great to see strong people standing up for what they believe in." Similarly, Robin Schaper argued: "If killing chickens was actually okay, no-one would be bothered by seeing a video of it. If she stood in the fruit aisle with an apple-picking video, it wouldn't even make the news. So, let's stop shooting the messenger and just acknowledge that killing chickens for nuggets is unjustifiable animal cruelty."
Lisa Paxford said: "I respect her right to go anywhere and talk to people about this but she also needs to respect the fact if she’s told by someone that they don’t want to talk to her about it and they want her to leave then she should leave and not force it or get mouthy. If someone wants a conversation with her then great but if they don’t, then leave them alone."
Alex Mortimer-Brown thought the type of footage she had shown should be introduced to the education system. He argued "Showing people how an animal ends up on your plate should be taught in primary school. Not in a political way...in an educated way. I'm grateful for every animal on my plate, as long as the animal is getting eaten....pass me the gun".
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