PETA (no relation) dumps horseshit outside Gordon Ramsey restaurant saying “You missed a bit”. PETA is the People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals, note there is no AETP – Animals For The Ethical Treatment Of Humans. If there were I reckon crocodiles, black widow spiders and grizzly bears would not join. But what they are unhappy about is Gordon Ramsey eating ponies on his TV show The F Word.
Of course they are not upset because horsies are cute and they all played with My Little Pony as kiddiewinkles. And their favourite book is Black Beauty. And favourite film is National Velvet. And never use glue made from horses from the knackers yard. And only wanted a pony as a child to love and hug and not to ride around because riding on a dumb animal is NOT ETHICAL. No: what they are protesting about is that horses used for food purposes are sometimes transported long distances in poor conditions. Well, they say that is what they are protesting about and then make a counter quote like this:
“Will it be a family dog next? Chickens, pigs, cows and horses all suffer fear and discomfort when they are robbed of their lives for nothing more than a fleeting taste or a TV rating.”
PETA is a pro-vegetarian organisation, though they try to play this down a touch because it massively cuts the number of people who might be sympathetic. And here the sympathies are clearly from the cute animals brigade. Which then makes you wonder why PETA aren’t dumping manure on the doorways of every non-vegetarian restaurant in the country. Except for it being illegal of course. Because if they want to improve the conditions in which animals for food are kept (including horses and, if you will, dogs) then the best way is for foodies such as Ramsey to take an interest, and raise our own awareness. As someone who has eaten horse and enjoyed it, I want to know its provenance so the meat can be as good as possible. In the meantime, I wonder if they recognise the irony in suggesting that Ramsey’s horse eating is a TV rating grab gimmick. Like, er, dumping horse manure outside Claridges.