Protestors who ate raw squirrels in in front of vegans at a food market have been fined £600.
Deonisy Khlebnikov, 22, and Gatis Lagzdins, 29, bit into the furry animals at the Soho Vegan Food Market in Rupert Street on 30 March this year, and were arrested.
YouTuber Lagszins, known as ‘Sv3rige’ and Khlebnikov were caught on camera and one outraged onlooker can be heard asking Lagszins: ‘Why are you doing this? I eat meat, but I don’t do this.’
He said: ‘My message is that veganism is malnutrition and the reason I and other people eat raw meat is to show what humans eat in nature.’
The pair denied using disorderly behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress at a trial at City of London Magistrates’ Court last month. They were found guilty yesterday at Westminster Magistrates Court.
YouTuber Lagszins, known as ‘Sv3rige’ (pictured left and right) and Khlebnikov were caught on camera and one outraged onlooker can be heard asking Lagszins: ‘Why are you doing this? I eat meat, but I don’t do this’
Natalie Clines, from the CPS, said: ‘Deonisy Khlebnikov and Gatis Lagzdins claimed they were against veganism and were raising awareness about the dangers of not eating meat when they publicly consumed raw squirrels.
‘But by choosing to do this outside a vegan food stall and continuing with their disgusting and unnecessary behaviour despite requests to stop, including from a parent whose child was upset by their actions, the prosecution was able to demonstrate that they had planned and intended to cause distress to the public.
‘Their pre-meditated actions caused significant distress to members of the public, including young children.’
Khlebnikov was fined £200 plus costs and a surcharge. Lagzdins, who did not show up to the hearing, was fined £400 plus costs and a surcharge.
In the footage Lagszins also had what appeared to be a roasted woodcock tied around his neck and a vest top donning the message ‘VEGANISM = MALNUTRITION’.
He added that vegans see veganism as a religion and added: ‘They blindly believe we can go from eating meat to just eating plants like a cow, but we can’t as humans.’
A spokesperson for The Vegan Society dismissed Sv3ridge’s claims at the time, saying: ‘It is perfectly possible to get all the nutrients your body needs as a vegan; the British Dietetic Association shares the message that vegan diets are suitable for people of all ages and life stages.’
‘There were protests at the venue and it is in relation to that public order arrests were made,’ a spokesperson said.
The pony-tailed protester had a top with an anti-vegan message and two animal bodies
Soho Vegan Market founders later told MailOnline: ‘Soho Vegan Market was created so that people, both vegan and otherwise, could try delicious and different plant based food in a brilliant and easily accessible location in the heart of London.
‘We’ve been open for almost a year now and have seen thousands of people visit over this time with no conflict between vegans and meat eaters at all, which of course is what we are aiming for.
‘We were unaware of the planned protest on Saturday, do not condone the actions of known anti vegan YouTuber Sv3rige and are disappointed that it disrupted what is normally a vibrant and diverse weekly event.
‘We would like to thank the police and others who reacted quickly to prevent any further disruption or upset to our patrons and look forward to getting back to the normal Soho Vegan Market vibe next weekend.’
In one of his recent YouTube clips Sv3rige explains that he is on a tour of the UK and makes a plea for funding from his viewers because he ‘didn’t realise’ how expensive travel was in the UK.
The second carcass the man had appears to be a bird. Pictured right being cuffed by police
He is the same man who ate a raw pig’s head outside a vegan food festival in Brighton last week, the latest in a series of publicity stunts that also included eating raw chicken at a vegan Sunday market in Los Angeles a month ago.
He said he and his group have now been banned from the event.
The protester was confronted by members of the Brighton chapter of Direct Action Everywhere, an animal rights group, holding ‘it’s not food, it’s violence’ and ‘meat is murder’ signs, the Brighton and Hove Independent reported.
Pictures show the meat-eater bringing the raw pig’s head directly to his mouth and tearing off flesh – with no apparent sign of enjoyment.
Shortly after the pictures of the Brighton rally were disseminated, the vegan group issued a statement referring to how uncomfortable meat-eaters are made by ‘seeing the faces of the animals they eat’.
These claims were corroborated by Tim Barford, Vegfest UK manager, who said that many people who saw the man gnawing on the severed hog head actually turned to veganism.
He told the Brighton paper: ‘What was interesting was that we had meat eating members of the public saying that this revolting spectacle had encouraged them to give up eating meat – so it seems the anti-vegan protest actually encouraged people to go vegan.’
He added: ‘We knew about the planned protest and were expecting 30 protesters.
Pictures show the man bringing the raw pig’s head directly to his mouth to make his point
The protester holds the head surrounded by placards. The man and his affiliation have not been confirmed but it appears to be the same man who was recorded eating a squirrel
‘Three turned up, which was slightly sad for them and reminiscent of a Nigel Farage march.
‘But they proceeded to upset kids and members of the public, and with that in mind, the police arrived, gave them a warning and sent them packing.’
It follows several ‘direct action’ protests by the pro-vegan group in Brighton which have also ruffled feathers.
These protests include the vegans marching into a restaurant with ‘meat is murder’ signs, and blocking shoppers’ access to food in a supermarket.
One of the protesters held up a sign with a cow on it with the slogan ‘I want to live’
A woman who claimed to have been pushed by the female officer behind her Friday night
According to DxE, more than ten million pigs, aged about five to six months old, are killed each year in slaughterhouses.
They were most recently seen in a branch of Jamie’s Italian, the restaurant chain owned by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
The group sent out a statement saying they were the victim of police brutality but when approached by Mail Online, Sussex Police rubbished these claims.
The force were called by restaurant staff after around 25 peaceful protesters with a megaphone breached the restaurant in Brighton’s city centre on Friday night.
Families eating out with their children were visibly shocked as the group formed a chain and chanted: ‘What do we want? Animal liberation! When do we want it? Now’.
Video recorded by the group shows one protester flying to the ground but an officer tells her to ‘stop intentionally throwing yourself to the ground’.
In December DxE Brighton formed a human chain around the meat aisle in Waitrose
Police threw water on all of the group’s claims, saying ‘nothing of what they’re citing’ took place.
In November, members of the group who stormed a steakhouse in the city, chanted ‘it’s not meat it’s violence’ and played sounds of cows being slaughtered were shouted down by a stag party who sang back at them ‘stand up if you love meat’.
The following month, a group protested holding shocking placards and forming a human chain around Christmas turkeys in Waitrose in Hove.
But on Good Morning Britain Piers Morgan challenged three group members – Ashti, Ella and Dylan – who refused to answer whether their parents eat meat.
When they finally admitted some of their parents are not vegan like them, the GMB presenter claimed they should be protesting against their parents – instead of ‘terrorising old people in supermarkets’.