'Are you an animal lover?' Animal rights protest displaying dead pig, cat, and dog shocks in Central London

Animal rights activists have shocked the public in Central London, as a pro-vegan protest displayed what is believed to be a real dead cat, dog, and pig hanging side-by-side from butcher's hooks.

The protest was organised by Viva! - a campaign group best known for its investigations into conditions on factory farms - and was designed to challenge people's perceptions on how they viewed animals. The stunt saw the three displayed on the back of a lorry, beneath a sign reading ‘Are You an Animal Lover?’ The cat and dog were marked as pets, but the pig as just 'animal'.

Footage of the public's reaction to the protest showed a number of people recoiling in visible disgust as the truck drives past, parking at key London landmarks like the London Eye, Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square. Social media reaction has also been mixed, with one posting on X - formerly known as Twitter - that this was the best way to make people understand, while another slammed it as a "cheap and pathetic stunt".

NationalWorld has approached Viva! to confirm whether the animal's bodies were real, but they are currently believed to be.

Viva! said the stunt marked the start of a new wave of campaigning, which will use more provocative tactics to encourage people to go vegan. The protest action's main aim was to "evoke a powerful response from passers-by as they were confronted with the reality that the pigs they eat are very similar to their beloved pets".

The group's founder, Juliet Gellatley, defended their use of shock tactics. “As a society we treat cats and dogs as part of our families but see animals such as pigs, chickens and cows as commodities," she said. "Tens of millions of people in the UK eat factory farmed animals, but very few are happy to look at them dead, see how they are farmed or witness how they are killed."

The stunt served as a reminder that "the beef burger you order or the bacon sandwich you cook isn’t a faceless ingredient", she continued, but came from a living creature not all too different from beloved pets. "Pigs are sensitive, emotional and highly intelligent," she said.

"The only distinction between a deceased pig and a deceased cat or dog is your perception. If the sight of a dead cat or dog disgusts you, that same sentiment should be applied when seeing a dead pig.”

While many found the protest shocking, Ms Gellatley said the "extreme suffering" she had seen in her 30-year career investigating factory farms was even more so. "How can we claim to be nation of animal lovers when we engage in such moral hypocrisy? It’s time we apply the same consideration to farmed animals, as we do our pets at home," she said.