Around 12:00 today (11/6/24,) two supporters of Animal Rising entered the Philip Mould gallery and proceeded to affix posters onto the painting of King Charles III [1]. One poster overlaid the King’s face with Wallace, from the popular Aardman stop-motion, whilst another was a speech bubble reading “No Cheese Gromit. Look At All This Cruelty On RSPCA Farms!”
The action brought attention to Animal Rising’s damning investigation of 45 RSPCA Assured farms, described as “indefensible” by Chris Packham and “effectively fraud” by Crown Court Judge Ayesha Smart [2] [3].
The lighthearted action played on the King’s love of Wallace and Gromit and his status as Royal Patron of the RSPCA [4]. Animal Rising has called on the King to suspend his support for the charity until they drop the Assured Scheme.
In a comedic redecoration of the famous portrait of King Charles III, two supporters of Animal Rising pasted the face of the iconic British character Wallace over His Majesty’s. The action highlighted the cruelty on RSPCA Assured farms the group had exposed over the previous weekend.
Daniel Juniper, former Early Years Practitioner and one of those involved said:
“With King Charles being such a big fan of Wallace and Gromit, we couldn’t think of a better way to draw his attention to the horrific scenes on RSPCA Assured farms! Even though we hope this is amusing to His Majesty, we also call on him to seriously reconsider if he wants to be associated with the awful suffering across farms being endorsed by the RSPCA.
Charles has made it clear he is sensitive to the suffering of animals in UK farms; now is the perfect time for him to step up and call on the RSPCA to drop the Assured Scheme and tell the truth about animal farming.”
The report, released by Animal Rising on Sunday, contains investigations from 45 farms across the UK - including chickens, pigs, salmon, and trout. The farms were randomly selected, with investigators finding cruelty and suffering at every single one. The scenes include dead and dying baby chickens, dead pigs left in farm walkways, and salmon being eaten alive by sea lice.
The report details an alleged 280 legal breaches and 94 breaches of DEFRA regulations, with Animal Rising calling on the RSPCA to drop the scheme. On one Somerset farm investigators found a dead and decomposing pig in a walkway, whilst others observed a shed at an RSPCA Assured egg-laying hen farm in Kent with approximately 64,000 chickens in dire conditions.
Orla Coghlan, Former Children’s Nurse and Animal Rising Spokesperson said:
“Just as Feathers McGraw fooled Wallace into a bank heist, the RSPCA has been fooling the British public into thinking their factory farms are - in any way - an acceptable place for animals to live. It’s clear from the scenes across 45 RSPCA Assured farms that there’s no kind way to farm animals.
The RSPCA needs to take a bolder stance on the transition to a plant-based food system, beginning with calls for drastic meat reduction. The charity can, once again, lead the way for animals in the UK, rather than keeping them in misery.”
Animal Rising is a social movement to create a new relationship with all beings and give us a chance for a safe ecological future. The group primarily calls for the transition to a secure and sustainable plant-based food system, alongside a mass rewilding programme.
ENDS
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Notes To The Editor:
[2] Full report, including Ayesha Smart’s comment: https://www.animalrising.org/_files/ugd/80f7b1_312aaf59f84e462fa13ae8d355c2cf02.pdf and short video compiling evidence from farms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfM5VRMl7wk&t=59s
[3] Chris Packham’s comments for the Sunday Times: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/chris-packham-rspca-assured-farms-nlgt0ngl3
The posters were affixed using water sprayed onto the bag of them, and are easily removable without causing damage to the painting.
Animal Rising does not claim any commercial or intellectual rights over the likeness of Wallace, from Aardman's "Wallace and Gromit".