Vegan Supermarket Disruption in Countdown, Trafalgar Mall, Whanganui

A small group from Auckland and Whanganui held a peaceful vigil in front of the meat aisle at Countdown, Trafalgar Square, on Saturday morning, 19 October. It was the first of several actions planned for the lower North Island this weekend by Direct Action Everywhere NZ.

Shoppers were greeted with three activists wearing tape over their mouths with the writing LOVE, COMPASSION, FREEDOM, and they held up photos of animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses. Most customers ignored the protesters, who were standing a good trolley width from the freezer, and not obstructing them from getting their meat. However, a couple of people were obviously angry. One man said: ‘I don’t mind you protesting outside, but you shouldn’t be in the supermarket, annoying people.’ When offered a leaflet explaining why the group was doing the action, another customer smiled good-naturedly and said: ‘That doesn’t interest me, I’m a butcher by trade.’

After more than fifteen minutes they were asked to leave by Store Management. They lay flowers on the trays of meat behind them and peacefully left the store, then paraded around Trafalgar Mall holding up their signs and singing, before ending the action.

The disruption was filmed by the protest group.

One of the activists and Whanganui resident Sandra Kyle said “We do this action to remind people that the meat they choose to eat came from a warm, living breathing animal who didn’t want to die. There is no reason to continue slaughtering sentient beings for our food in this day and age. There are many delicious, healthy and more sustainable products that do not involve harming an animal”.
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