The Melbourne Cup is known as the race that stops the nation, but in more recent years many have said nup to the cup in support of animal rights.
On Tuesday comedian Dave Hughes was criticised for appearing on Channel 10′s Melbourne Cup coverage live from Flemington Racecourse after saying earlier this year that he was on a “full plant based” diet since November 2019, telling the ABC he’s given up all animal products including eggs and honey.
Many on Twitter expressed their disappointment, with one person writing, “Dave Hughes is a vegan, just not when there is #HorseRacing money involved! #MelbourneCup”.
“Dave Hughes on @Channel10AU or MelbCupDay. I would’ve thought vegans would be opposed to the inhumane treatment horses are subjected to. Not this vegan. #MelbourneFuCup,” penned another.
On Tuesday the comedian, also known as Hughesy, appeared on a panel at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse alongside presenters Gorgi Coghlan and Stephen Quartermain.
In his segment he said it was a “pleasure to be here” for a very “different” Melbourne Cup amid the coronavirus pandemic, before also speaking about filming ‘The Masked Singer’ in lockdown a few months ago.
In an interview with the ABC in February, Hughesy said he had been “loving” the “full plant based” diet since starting it in November last year after watching a documentary about veganism on Netflix.
“In the doco, it just made me think about what’s good for my health and so in November I stopped all dairy and I feel really good,” he said.
Dave Hughes didn’t immediately respond to HuffPost Australia’s request for comment.
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