Animal rights organisation PETA is urging the Royal Highland Show to go vegan – and ditch the livestock displays for a turnip beauty pageant and potato-sculpting competition.
Scotland’s largest annual agricultural event – showcasing the best of farming, food and rural life – welcomes around 200,000 visitors each year.
Contests include show jumping, sheep shearing and cow parades, which PETA has branded “outdated”.
Ahead of this year’s event, PETA – known for its sometimes controversial campaigns – has written to Jim Warnock, the chair of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS).
Dawn Carr, vice president of vegan projects at PETA UK, said: “Currently, the show involves over 6,500 non-consenting animals who are tied up, pulled around, roughly handled, and forced to compete in dangerous show jumping.
“A vegan event, in contrast, could feature fun, family-friendly activities such as a vegan haggis-eating contest, a turnip beauty pageant, and a potato-sculpting competition.
“Instead of outdated cow parades, cruel sheep shearing, and food that has been cut or expelled from an animal’s body, the new Royal Highland Grow can celebrate Scotland’s hard-working plant-based farmers and delicious, locally produced vegan fare.”
PETA has even created a “cheerful new logo” for the proposed Royal Highland Grow, featuring mascots “Neep and Tattie” in honour of the classic Scottish dish.
But the RHASS said it disagreed with PETA’s “misrepresentation” of the event, including its labelling of sheep shearing as “cruel”.
“This reflects a lack of understanding of what is required for good animal health, wellbeing and the importance of Scottish agriculture,” RHASS chief Alan Laidlaw said.
“I can only assume that this is to grab media attention, however while most will see through this for what it is, it has the potential to further undermine our proud agricultural sector and our farmers who work 24/7 to feed our nation with a wide choice of fruit, vegetables, dairy and meat for the many millions who choose to make that part of their diet.”
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PETA cited University of Oxford research which found that global temperatures could rise by more than 1.5C – even if fossil fuel emissions stopped immediately – due to emissions associated with food production, which includes methane expelled by cows.
As well as raising crop yields and reducing food loss and waste, the study recommended for people to “shift towards predominantly plant-based diets” to help stop climate change.
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Farming union NFU Scotland said the event is a “hugely important economic platform for food and drink, which is the nation’s biggest manufacturing sector, directly and indirectly supporting 360,000 jobs”.
This year’s RHS is set to take place at Ingliston near Edinburgh from 22 to 25 June.
