Farmers Talk About Getting Death Threats From Hardcore Vegans

Vegans and meat eaters obviously have different approaches to food and the issue of what's acceptable to put in their mouths. Despite being on opposite sides of the dietary lifestyle, most of us can disagree on these issues peacefully.

However, this is the age of the Internet, where not even the most minor difference of opinion can pass by without someone invoking Godwin's Law. So it's no surprise that there are people at the extreme ends of any scale, who you can rely on to take things too far.

Alison's experience isn't isolated. Dairy farmer Paul Tomkins also told the show: "I guess one of the vulnerabilities we have as result of having footpaths cross our lands means that we are vulnerable to this sort of activism. I receive messages online, calling me a rapist or murderer or torturer."

Naturally, these admissions have sparked a fiery debate on social media, with users arguing for and against non-peaceful protest practices, and other vegans giving out death threats.

Among the heated exchanges on Twitter, one person wrote: "People have a choice to eat meat or not. If people want to live a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle that is their choice too. My friend is vegetarian and does not inflict that on me and I don't inflict my choices on her."

But that was countered by another user, who commented saying: "It's fascinating to see the amount of bile spewed up here against someone who is choosing a cruelty free life. I'm delighted that veganism is causing such a furore. It is the future and I'm thrilled."

While a third wrote: "These idiots are domestic terrorists & should be treated as such, don't force your vegan dogma on the rest of us if it's so important to you go set up a commune far, far away from normal people."

The Vegan Society says there are more than half a million followers in the UK at the moment and there's no denying that the numbers of those abstaining from animal-based products are increasing.

But where do you drawn the line between activism and threating behaviour?

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Food, UK News, News, Animal Rights, Vegan, Animals

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie