A protest has been carried out by members of Animal Rebellion at House of Tides in Newcastle.
Nine protesters from the animal rights group occupied the tables inside the bar of the Michelin Star restaurant. They sat down with mock menus which outlined the group's demands.
The restaurant contacted police after the group refused to leave the venue. After around 45 minutes, they were moved on by officers.
Read more: Animal rights activists take over Michelin Star restaurant House of Tides in Newcastle
Who is Animal Rebellion and what is House of Tides? Here is a guide to everything you need to know following the incident.
Who is Animal Rebellion and what do they do?
Animal Rebellion is a mass movement that uses nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience to campaign for animal and climate justice.
What is the Sit-In campaign?
A Sit-In is involves occupying tables reserved for customers and holding 'mock menus' outlining the group’s core demands stylised as a starter, main, and dessert.
These actions come as part of Animal Rebellion’s demands for a plant-based future, which were announced on May 23.
The animal and climate justice group is urging wholesale governmental and societal support for farmers and fishing communities to transition to a plant-based food system and programme of rewilding that will secure a future for generations to come.
The group is planning multiple high-end Sit-Ins on Saturday evening as they declare a national day of action.
They said the actions will continue until the government takes meaningful action to address the climate and ecological emergencies, and eliminate animal suffering.
What is House of Tides?
House of Tides is a Michelin Star restaurant located on the Quayside in Newcastle. It is set within a restored Grade 1 listed 16th Century former merchant's town house.
The fine dining restaurant, set over two floors, was opened in 2014 by Kenny & Abbie Atkinson. It is Newcastle's only One Star Michelin and Four AA Rosette awarded restaurant.
Kenny Atkinson has been a professional chef for more than 20 years and has previously appeared on BBC 2’s The Great British Menu .
Why has Animal Rebellion targeted House of Tides?
According to Animal Rebellion, House of Tides serves dinners starting at a price of £130 per person. They claim that the venue refuses to cater to vegans and has a meat-heavy menu, including many of the foods with the largest carbon, and land-use, footprints, such as lamb.
What happened during the protest?
Nine smartly-dressed members of Animal Rebellion went into the restaurant and told staff that they were carrying out a protest.
They sat at tables in and held mock menus which said:
"This menu would spare the lives of 1.2billion land animals and more than three million sea animals in the UK every year.
"The menu would eliminate 70% of food-related emissions and draw down 150 draw down 150 gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere.
"This menu would provide more than enough affordable, nutritious plant-based food to feed everyone."
They aimed to occupy tables reserved for customers. However House of Tides said that they actually sat in the bar area and the restaurant, which is located upstairs, was not impacted.
What did House of Tides say about the protest?
Conor Goulding, manager at House of Tides, told Chronicle Live that it was "mildly inconvenient" that they had to call the police but that it had no affect on them at all.
He said: "They obviously thought they wee causing a massive inconvenience. They didn't realise that our restaurant was upstairs. We haven't been affected at all by it. They sat in our bar area for about 45 minutes.
"We decided to ring the police because they wouldn't leave. None of them got arrested. They left before they got that point.
"I think with all of this extreme protests there's a conversation to be had but by targeting very small businesses such as ourselves - an independent business - is the wrong way to go about it.
"They should be targeting huge companies like KFC and McDonalds which are using large farms. We use small local producers who take very good care of their animals. Our restaurant serves between 30 and 40 people."
Mr Goulding said that nothing like that has ever happened before at House of Tides but they expect little things like this to happen when the restaurant has a name and a reputation.
He said they offer a vegetarian menu but they don't cater for vegans as they use a lot of French cooking techniques. He added: "We use lots of butter and cream in our dishes."
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