Activists from Animal Rising have given the new portrait of King Charles III a Wallace and Gromit-themed makeover to raise awareness of animal cruelty on RSPCA Assured farms.
A poster of Wallace’s face was affixed to the portrait of the King at Philip Mould gallery in London, along with a speech bubble that reads, “No Cheese, Gromit. Look At All This Cruelty On RSPCA Farms!”
Animal Rising released evidence of routine suffering on supposedly high-welfare RSPCA farms on Sunday.
Among 280 legal breaches at RSPCA farms was a dead pig left between pens for more than 48 hours. Dr Alice Brough, a veterinarian and former commercial pig vet, who reviewed the footage for Animal Rising, explained: “There is blood in the passageway, along with a dead pig – so pigs are pulled out and shot outside pens but then not disposed of immediately and correctly into locked dead bins.”
The portrait by Jonathan Yeo sparked a reaction when it was unveiled last month for the choice of blood red as its primary colour. The King recently became royal patron of the RSPCA.
Daniel Juniper, former Early Years Practitioner and one of those involved in the action, commented:
“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.
Following the stunt, Animal Rising confirmed that the posters it affixed “are easily removable without causing damage to the painting.”
The damage to RSPCA’s reputation, should it continue to endorse animal suffering, may be harder to shake off.
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