A notorious vegan activist who made headlines with chaotic protests at a Perth restaurant has taken her fight global, appearing at London in her latest demonstration.
An Australian vegan activist has appeared at a popular high-end London store in her latest protest, just weeks after copping a ban from all licensed premises in WA.
Tash Peterson, who also goes by the social media handle “vganbooty”, has gained notoriety for her rallies, including one earlier this month involving two separate incidents at Fyre Restaurant in Perth, owned by British-born chef John Mountain.
The activist has now popped up in London out the front of luxury retailer Hermès demanding reptile skins be removed from shelves, according to nonprofit organisation PETA.
Peterson drenched herself in “blood” and “guts” in her protest, holding a fake heart in one hand while the other held an imitation Birkin bag with ‘Hermès: Dump Exotic Skins!’ written on the front in white text.
“Australia is the world’s main producer of saltwater crocodile skin, exporting 90% of it internationally. Hermès already owns the majority of the crocodile farms in the Northern Territory, yet it is planning to expand its operations further by building Australia’s biggest crocodile farm to date and imprisoning up to 50,000 animals there at a time,” PETA said on their website.
“Crocodiles are crudely bludgeoned, gutted, and sometimes skinned alive to make Hermès bags. The skin from crocodiles’ stomachs is used to make items such as the Hermès Birkin and Kelly handbags, which can cost $70,000 or more. It takes two or three crocodiles to make just one handbag.
“With the passing of Jane Birkin this month, who asked Hermès to remove her name from the line after learning about the suffering crocodiles endure, PETA is calling on Hermès to drop exotic skins in her memory.”
Peterson and other demonstrators in late June and this month led protests against Fyre restaurant, with the activist and Mr Mountain seen in a scuffle outside the premises.
She was slapped with a ban from all licensed venues in WA for 12 months while the eatery said vegans are “barred for life” after their demonstrations took a personal toll on Mr Mountain who revealed he lost his partner due to the media attention.
“I lost a relationship that I thought I was going to marry this woman and she just couldn’t handle the amount of attention. She’s a very private person,” he told A Current Affair.
“Yeah… thanks vegans. You’re barred for life, definitely, whenever I open any other business. Now I’m going to start opening steak restaurants just to piss you off.”
Peterson appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored last week where the British host slammed her protest methods.
“You’re one of these people that runs into restaurants and plays sounds from screaming animals in abattoirs and so on. I think it’s very off putting,” Morgan said.
The activist is currently in the UK for the Vegan Camp Out Festival and is set to appear as a guest speaker.
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