Vegan activists have targeted a family-run butcher’s store in South Gloucestershire, UK, and showered the shop with disturbing placards in which they accused the butcher of being a “murdering scum” while wishing cancer upon him and his family.
The incident happened at the Molesworths Family Butchers on the night before the big rally that took place in Bristol.
As the 35-year-old shop owner Nick Rapps revealed, he refuses to budge under the pressure of the activists. Nevertheless, the father-of-one decided to speak out and show the public the abuse he and his family have been facing at the hands of the protesters.
“Cancer on you and your family,” one placard read. Another one suggested: “Rot in hell you murdering scum.”
Speaking of the vegan lifestyle, Rapps admitted he is “sympathetic” to the vegans and their diet.
“I’ve got quite thick skin, I can take criticism. You’ve kind of got to expect it in our trade,” he added.
“I take the approach of I can’t get upset, because that is exactly what they want. The funny thing is, out of all the people they could have targeted, I’m probably the one person who is most sympathetic to that lifestyle.
“I’ve always worked in places where the meat has been ethically sourced – it’s not at all mass-produced. If these people want to have a conversation with me about that side of things, I’m actually a very understanding person.”
While he could swallow all of the insults without a word, the butcher admitted the vegans crossed the line with the sign wishing cancer upon his family.
“What did turn my stomach a bit was the cancer sign. I’ve got quite a young family, so that was a bit much,” Rapps added.
“Two members of my family also died quite young from cancer. It’s really offensive to cancer survivors.
“The thought process just isn’t there. They’ve obviously just written the most offensive thing they could, just to get a reaction. But whatever it was intended to do, it has done the opposite.”
Following the public outrage over the insults, The Vegan Society spoke out and claimed that “any extremists are not representative of the movement” while encouraging vegans to share a peaceful message.
“As much as we sympathize with the activists who allegedly put up the signs, we do not consider this approach to be an effective way to promote veganism as an ethics-driven lifestyle,” they told the BBC.
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