Animal rights organization PETA has called on organizers of the World Black Pudding Throwing Championships to adopt vegan alternatives for the event, arguing that the use of pig's blood and fat for sport is inhumane.
The annual competition, held in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, involves participants throwing sausages at traditional black puddings perched on a plinth. PETA sent a letter to the event organizers, stating that "it was wrong for the animals to have their 'blood and fat thrown at a target for a bit of fun.'"
The organization offered to fund cruelty-free alternatives for the competition, suggesting items like vegan black puddings, sponges, or locally grown turnips. "Pigs are curious, sensitive animals, who deserve better than being forcibly bred, confined, and slaughtered for a meal, or in the case of this event, a prop," PETA stated in their appeal.
Organizers of the World Black Pudding Throwing Championships confirmed that vegan options are already available for competitors and that those who choose them are welcome. However, they have stated that making vegan alternatives compulsory is not planned.
PETA's recent activism also includes a request for a mackerel festival in Aberaeron, Wales, to be rebranded as a cabbage festival. The Welsh town's event celebrates the end of the fishing season with a procession of a papier-mâché mackerel, which is then burned on the beach. PETA proposed a similar procession with a giant papier-mâché cabbage, arguing that celebrating plant produce aligns better with compassion.
Representatives for the Aberaeron festival rejected PETA's suggestion, pointing out that a real fish is not used in their tradition and questioning the notion of being "cruel to cabbages." They described the festival as a lighthearted event that brings the community together.