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Official Animal Rights March: Thousands Of Vegans Set To Walk To Parliament

Official Animal Rights March: Thousands Of Vegans Set To Walk To Parliament

Thousands of vegans are expected to march through London on Saturday “demanding an end to all animal oppression”.

Activists will be marching to the Houses of Parliament between midday and 4pm tomorrow.

About 4,000 people have said they are going to the Official Animal Rights March, according to the Facebook event page, with a further 7,800 people expressing an interest in attending.

“The future is vegan, but we must take to the streets and continue to speak out on behalf of the animals until the day that their suffering ends,” organisers said.

Protesters at last year's Official Animal Rights March through London.
Jack Taylor via Getty Images
Protesters at last year's Official Animal Rights March through London.

Last year about 2,500 people took part in the first Official Animal Rights March and organisers hope Saturday’s rally will be even “bigger, louder, bolder and brighter”.

Animal rights activist organisation Surge has teamed up with Save Movement UK and Heartcure to coordinate the march.

Demonstrators will meet at Achilles Statue, in Hyde Park, before heading to Parliament.

Similar events will also be taking place in New York, Los Angeles and Miami.

Ed Winters, from Surge, said: “The purpose of the march is to create a sense of community within the animal rights movement and show society that attitudes towards animals are continuing to grow and change.

“The number of vegans in the UK is growing incredibly fast and we want this march to reflect that and further push the issue of animal exploitation into the mainstream agenda.

“It’s time for us to understand that animals are not here for us but are here with us.

“Not only are there vegan alternatives to animal products but in fact living a vegan lifestyle is healthier and vastly better for the environment.

“So the question becomes, if we can live a healthy life that is better for the planet and doesn’t involve causing unnecessary harm to others, why wouldn’t we?”

Last October thousands marched through London to protest against the way animals are “exploited and killed in their millions”.

The Vegan Society estimates there is at least 542,000 people in Britain who are now following a vegan diet.

The number of vegans believed to be living in the UK has increased by more than 350% in the last decade, the research showed, making veganism one of Britain’s fastest growing lifestyle movements.

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