UK supermarket Sainsbury’s has removed a cruel Christmas card from sale after vegan advocate and businesswoman Heather Mills and others complained about it.
After Heather posted about the card, others added their complaints on social media. They were offended by the image which shows pigs in the cold, covered in snow. One of them says: “Don’t worry, I hear we’re getting some blankets!”
The joke alludes to the fact that the animals will be killed, then eaten as part of the sausage and bacon dish known as ‘pigs in blankets’.
After she posted the card on her Instagram account, many fellow animal advocates shared their views.
One wrote: “Pigs are more intelligent than dogs & are treated so inhumanely. The day that people treat all sentient beings with love & respect is the day we will have true peace on earth.”
Another simply added: “That’s the saddest card I’ve ever seen.”
‘Gross’ Christmas card
Writing on Instagram, Heather said: “This card from @sainsburys highlights a major historical and endemic societal issue with the way we treat these and other highly intelligent creatures. Having spent time uncovering the nefarious practices of pig farming, sadly I’ve seen it first-hand.”
Speaking to the Mirror about the card, Heather said that eating pork is one thing, but ‘it’s another thing to make a joke about it’.
She added: “It’s just unnecessary and it’s what’s feeding people that joke about those that don’t eat meat. We used to be the real weirdos, we’re less weird now. It’s more accepted.
“I’ve been vegan for 30 years and you can imagine 30 years ago, I was the biggest weirdo on the planet. But now people are having to accept the consequences of the overconsumption and production and manufacturing of meat.”
Sainsbury’s has since apologised and removed the card from sale, adding that it has ‘passed the complaint onto the relevant department for an internal review’.
A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “We offer a wide range of festive cards and welcome customer feedback on this year’s designs.”
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Featured photo © Karwai Tang / Contributor Getty Images