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Vegans Outraged By 'Tongue In Cheek' Sign Outside Derbyshire Butcher's Shop

Vegans Outraged By 'Tongue In Cheek' Sign Outside Derbyshire Butcher's Shop

Don't have a cow, man

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

Vegans have been getting pretty irate about the actions of a butcher in Duffield, Derbyshire. While that might not seem like a drastic change to the usual state of affairs, it's the reason they are annoyed that is interesting.

You see, the butcher - Anthony Andrew Traditional Butchers - put up an advertising board outside his shop that reads: "Dear vegans, we have the cow that's been eating all your grass. Your [sic] welcome".

Spotted: Duffield/BPM Media

Obviously, it's just a bit of fun, but given that vegans are all for not killing animals and selling them/eating them, it's possibly a little close to the bone for some of them.

One passer-by was outraged, not only by the 'alienating' message, but also by the quality of the writing. They took to social media to post: "Dear Anthony Andrews, when I saw the title of your board I was excited at what you might be offering; what a disappointment it was to then read this message and find you offering only hostility and bad grammar.

"Tip: don't alienate potential customers. You're welcome."

Potential customers? Seriously, what business does a vegan have in a butcher's shop? None whatsoever - that's what.

As you'd imagine, Anthony Griffiths, who owns the shop, doesn't see a problem and just thinks that it's 'a bit of fun'. He says he meant no harm by it.

Mr Griffiths said: "We are well-known for our silly adverts and our videos we post online - it's all a bit of fun. There was no offence meant by them, we just like to have a good time and lighten the mood.

"We have signs up about vegetarians, but I guess some people are more sensitive than others.

"All we do is try and do our best every day."

BPM Media

Hey, what more can you do?

He continued: "I use local farmers and I'm quality assured, so all the meats come from RSPCA approved farms.

"I always say to my customers that I would be the worst farmer in the world. I wouldn't send any of the animals to slaughter and they would all live in the house with me.

"If I did upset the person, then I do apologise, and they can come in and I'll get them a couple of fillet steaks to go."

Conversely, some of the vegans think that the advert could cause the opposite reaction to the intended effect and cause more people to consider veganism

BPM Media

Dominika Pasecka, a spokesperson for The Vegan Society, said: "The number of vegans has quadrupled in the last four years alone and it's obvious that the meat, dairy and egg industries are becoming worried and resorting to adverts like this.

"The irony is that this message actually helps people to make the connection between the dead cow being sold at the butcher's shop and the sentient, living being he or she once was.

"We hope this advert will help people to see that eating animals is unnecessary and easily avoidable in this day and age, with a plethora of vegan options available everywhere."

Featured Image Credit: BPM Media/Spotted: Duffield

Topics: Food, UK News, Food And Drink, Vegan, advert