‘The woman bringing horror of “human branding” to Britain: Vegan to mark volunteer with hot iron in protest against animal cruelty’

Yesterday (19th January), an item was posted on dailymail.co.uk titled ‘The woman bringing horror of “human branding” to Britain: Vegan to mark volunteer with hot iron in protest against animal cruelty’.

‘… Becky Folkard is a successful senior manager at a wealth management company. She dresses smartly and attends high-level business meetings in central London.But on March 21, in broad daylight on a London street, grammar school-educated Becky will take hold of a specially-designed branding iron, measuring four inches across and two inches wide, and made scalding hot by a blowtorch.

Wearing a mask over her face and the over-sized apron of a slaughterhouse worker, she will then press the brand for several seconds into the bare chest of a man she met only recently over the internet, while he is restrained on the ground.

The iron will smoke as it sears his skin. His skin will blister and weep almost immediately and the brand will leave a wound so severe he will be permanently scarred with the numbers on the iron – 269.

The act of almost unthinkable violence in a public place will no doubt cause horror and revulsion among passers-by and curious onlookers unlucky enough to witness the event.

The demonstration will last just ten minutes but Becky, 34, hopes it will have resonance for far longer. She is a vegan – and one of a growing number of animal rights activists who are resorting to extreme tactics to make their views known.

The public branding will be a protest against animal cruelty in the dairy industry, and those volunteering to be marked with the number 269 are acting in solidarity with the first such demonstration that took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, in October.

The number refers to the ear tag on a male calf filmed on a dairy farm being readied to be sold for veal or leather.

The scene in London will be replayed in cities around the world with similar demonstrations planned in Leeds, Washington DC, Hamburg, Buenos Aires, Melbourne and Prague.

The protest is not illegal because the adults are consenting and the London group is liaising closely with police to make sure no public order offences are committed.

Becky says she would never want to be associated with any group involved in illegal activities but explained that she had to make a stand. She said: ‘If one person goes away and researches a vegan lifestyle because of this it will have been worth it …’

Read the item in full, view images and add your comment online at www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265109/The-woman-bringing-horror-human-branding-Britain-Vegan-mark-volunteer-hot-iron-protest-animal-cruelty.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

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