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Low angle view of Horse Racing - Steeplechase

Another Grand National. Another dead horse.&nbsp;&nbsp;This year it was Celebre D’Allen - a 13-year-old who led the field with three fences to go, before his body gave out, his lungs gave in, and he collapsed. He was walked off the track by vets, spent the night under observation, and then quietly died.&nbsp;&nbsp;Cue the press release parade.&nbsp;&nbsp;“He received the very best treatment.”&nbsp;&nbsp;“He was much-loved.”&nbsp;&nbsp;“He was a wonderful horse.”&nbsp;&nbsp;He’s now a corpse.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let’s be clear: this wasn’t an accident. It was inevitable.Celebre D’Allen “had no more to give.” That’s not a metaphor. He literally had nothing left, and they made him keep going. His jockey was banned for 10 days - not for riding in a race that kills horses, but for not hiding it better.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is how the industry works. They push animals to exhaustion and beyond. Then they tell us how “gutted” they are when those animals die. And the public? They shrug and place their bets for next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;This isn’t sport. It’s slaughter in slow motion.The racing industry loves the language of care. “Best possible treatment.” “Loved member of the team.” “Thorough vet checks.” All designed to give the illusion of concern while masking the reality: horses are property. Tools. Disposable assets in a game of risk and return.&nbsp;&nbsp;The British Horseracing Authority says Celebre D’Allen passed multiple checks to ensure he was “fit to race.” Maybe he was fit - until they ran him to death.&nbsp;&nbsp;What kind of system proudly boasts about all the safety checks that didn’t stop an animal from dying?&nbsp;&nbsp;What happened to Celebre D’Allen wasn’t a fluke. It was the cost of doing business.The Grand National isn’t some harmless tradition - it’s an endurance gauntlet designed to break bodies. Every year, horses fall. Every year, some don’t get back up.&nbsp;&nbsp;Then come the headlines. The tributes. The noise. And then the silence. Until next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;If a horse collapses and dies, but the betting slips pay out - did anyone even notice?This is how moral anaesthesia works. Drown the death in euphemisms. Dress up exploitation in ceremony. Talk about love while profiting from someone’s destruction.&nbsp;&nbsp;And if anyone dares to challenge it? Cue the outrage. “Horses love to run!” “They’re bred for it!” “They’re treated like kings!”&nbsp;&nbsp;Really? Kings aren’t whipped for slowing down. Kings aren’t banned from retiring. Kings don’t die mid-race and get replaced by the next disposable body.&nbsp;&nbsp;Celebre D’Allen didn’t die doing what he loved. He died because people loved what he did.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is animal use, plain and simple.Horses don’t race themselves. They don’t line up at the starting gate for fun. They are broken, trained, controlled, and pushed. They don’t sign contracts. They don’t opt in.&nbsp;&nbsp;And when they collapse, people mourn the loss of a good horse - not the injustice of the system that killed him.&nbsp;&nbsp;Because that’s the real trick. We don’t talk about responsibility. We talk about misfortune.&nbsp;&nbsp;We don’t ask whether the Grand National should exist. We ask who’s tipped to win next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;This isn’t grief. It’s gaslighting.The racing industry talks about “improving safety.” But safety for whom? Certainly not for the horses who never make it home.&nbsp;&nbsp;They say they’ve made progress. But if the goal is to stop horses dying, and horses are still dying, then what kind of “progress” is that?&nbsp;&nbsp;No one is entitled to someone else’s life for entertainment. Not if it’s dressed up as tradition. Not if it’s televised. Not if there’s a trophy at the end.&nbsp;&nbsp;Horse racing needs to end - not be reformed, not made ‘kinder’, but abolished.Because until it does, horses like Celebre D’Allen will keep collapsing. Vets will keep trying. Stables will keep posting tributes. And bodies will keep piling up behind the curtain of the “sport of kings.”&nbsp;&nbsp;And people will keep calling it sad. Instead of calling it what it is. Unjust. Deliberate. And deadly.Want to stop this? Stop funding it. Stop betting. Stop watching. Speak up. Demand abolition. Because Celebre D’Allen didn’t need better luck - he needed freedom.<figure id="figure-v6yvynrhpkm993glpc"><img id="v6yvynrhpkm993glpc" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/77EiN98an2Rut0YrSXsIy2an1cXQE8YdIKAkxAO2wKPuqKnGEDlHahQ83uX2DnES.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: undefined undefined;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="1:1" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/77EiN98an2Rut0YrSXsIy2an1cXQE8YdIKAkxAO2wKPuqKnGEDlHahQ83uX2DnES.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: undefined undefined;"></figure>

Celebre D’Allen Died So You Could Place a Bet

We're hurtling through the <a data-mce-href="https://unfccc.int/news/new-un-climate-change-report-shows-national-climate-plans-fall-miles-short-of-what-s-needed" href="https://unfccc.int/news/new-un-climate-change-report-shows-national-climate-plans-fall-miles-short-of-what-s-needed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sixth mass extinction.</a> Climate plans are failing. And while headlines obsess over fuel and fashion, the conversation rarely lands where it needs to: the food bowl of your companion animal.You can’t claim to care about the planet and ignore what’s in your companions bowl. In countries like the US, dogs and cats consume at least 20% of all farmed land animals. <a data-mce-href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291791" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291791" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yes, 20%.</a> The environmental footprint of pet food is massive and growing, but still somehow missing from climate discourse. That’s not just an oversight - it’s a scandal.Pet food isn’t just a side dish to the climate crisis. It’s a main course. The Real Cost of Meat-Based Pet FoodAnimal agriculture is one of the biggest drivers of greenhouse gas emissions. It’s responsible for at least 20% of global emissions - <a data-mce-href="https://herbivore.club/blog/fossil-fuels-are-bad--animal-agriculture-is-worse" href="https://herbivore.club/blog/fossil-fuels-are-bad--animal-agriculture-is-worse">some say far more</a>. And it’s not just humans fueling this: our companion animals are heavily implicated too.Dogs and cats now number <a data-mce-href="https://globalpetindustry.com/news/global-pet-population-at-1-billion-cats-lead-the-way/" href="https://globalpetindustry.com/news/global-pet-population-at-1-billion-cats-lead-the-way/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">around 1 billion</a> globally, and their food isn’t made from thin air. In fact, flesh-based pet food in the US alone is responsible for <a data-mce-href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181301" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181301" target="_blank" rel="noopener">25-30%</a> of the environmental impacts of domestic livestock production. That's not a fringe issue. That’s a full-blown climate liability.And the problem isn’t going away. As incomes rise, birth rates fall, and the pet industry booms, we’re set to see an explosion in companion populations - along with the emissions, land use, and resource depletion that come with it. The Byproduct Myth“But it’s just byproducts!” you’ll hear. As if that’s supposed to make it okay.This myth assumes animals are being killed for humans, and pets are just scavenging the leftovers. That’s not how the industry works. Byproducts are sold. They make up a huge chunk of slaughterhouse profits - <a data-mce-href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-011-0290-7" href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-011-0290-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over 11% for cow flesh, and 7.5% for pig flesh</a>. Without pet food and other sectors buying these carcass scraps, the slaughter industry wouldn’t be nearly as lucrative.Feeding pets byproducts often requires more dead animals, not fewer. Because byproducts make up less than half the carcass, you need more animals to feed the same number of pets. It’s not waste. It’s business. It's exploitation. Pet Food is Propping Up the Slaughter IndustryThe pet food industry is keeping factory farms afloat. It’s not reducing waste. It’s helping fund the slaughter of animals by the billions - many just to be minced, dried, and packed into a foil bag for your spaniel.And don’t think cats and dogs are just a small cog in this system. Globally, they’re responsible for consuming a number of animals that would make even the most committed carnivore blush. The environmental impacts of feeding one large dog meat-based food? <a data-mce-href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X18304552?via%3Dihub" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X18304552?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Higher than the average Japanese person’s entire carbon footprint</a>.This isn’t just unsustainable. It’s absurd. Vegan Pet Food: The Tipping PointNow here’s the good news. We can change this - radically and fast.Nutritionally complete plantbased pet foods already exist. Dogs thrive on them. Cats can, too, with properly formulated diets containing all the essentials like taurine. The British Veterinary Association has finally dropped its unscientific opposition to vegan dog food. And multiple studies confirm what guardians have known for years: well-planned plantbased diets for dogs and cats are safe, effective, and in many cases healthier.And the environmental benefits? Huge. Transitioning the world’s dogs to plantbased diets would save more emissions than the entire UK produces. It would free up enough food energy to feed 450 million people. Six billion land animals wouldn’t need to be bred, confined, and killed every year. Add cats, and that’s another billion saved. The Industry is Already ShiftingThe market knows what’s coming. Vegan pet food was worth $10.3 billion in 2024. It’s projected to nearly double by 2034. Supermarkets are stocking it. Biotech companies are creating cultivated flesh just for companions. Precision-fermented proteins are already on shelves with environmental impacts even lower than plant-based food.People are catching on. Because once you see what flesh-based pet food really is - an industrialised, animal-killing, climate-wrecking operation hiding behind cute packaging - you can’t unsee it. Still Think It’s Just a Personal Choice?Feeding your companion aanimals flesh isn't neutral. It props up an industry of slaughter. It releases enormous amounts of greenhouse gases. It competes for the same food resources that could feed millions of starving humans.And don’t pretend the answer is just “feed them less.” Overfeeding is a problem, yes — but the sheer numbers of dogs and cats worldwide, and what we feed them, are the real drivers. Portion control won’t solve systemic exploitation. So, What Needs to Happen?1. Transition dogs and cats to nutritionally complete plantbased diets. Not tomorrow - now. If you’re unsure, start by swapping 50% of their food and go from there.2. Adopt, don’t shop. Every purchased animal increases demand. Rescue is the way forward.3. Use your platform. Whether you’re a vet, influencer, or just someone with an internet connection - start talking about this.4. Support innovation. Cultivated and fermented alternatives are coming fast. Back the brands disrupting the slaughter status quo.5. Stop lying to yourself. If you recognise that animal farming is wrong, you can’t keep supporting it through your companions dinner. No More ExcusesWe have the <a data-mce-href="https://www.veterinaria.org/index.php/REDVET/article/view/92" href="https://www.veterinaria.org/index.php/REDVET/article/view/92" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">science</a>. We have the food. We have the tools. What we’re lacking is courage - and honesty.The climate is collapsing. Animals are dying. The flesh industry is clinging to survival by squeezing profit from every available channel - including your companion.You want to do the right thing? Start with what you’re pouring into that bowl.

The Pawprint Problem

Billions have been spent convincing people that they need to drink the lactation of a cow. That calcium only counts if it comes from a carton with a black-and-white mascot. That plant-based alternatives are a fad, a niche, a joke.But the numbers are in - and they’re terrifying if your business depends on mothers being forcibly impregnated so their milk can be sold to humans instead of their own babies.In Western Europe and North America, plant-based dairy just hit $11.55 billion in retail sales. That's a 12% compound annual growth rate since 2019. Consumers are shifting. Not gradually - profoundly.And let’s be clear: this isn't a health food craze. This is a mass rejection of exploitation. It’s a collective realisation that cow’s milk isn’t a miracle drink - it’s a marketing triumph built on broken biology, stolen motherhood, and shaky science. But calcium!That’s the favourite cry of every dairy apologist. Without cow’s milk, how will our bones survive? The short answer: better.Calcium is important. No one’s denying that. But the idea that cow’s milk is the only or best source is laughable. Calcium exists in the soil. Cows get it from plants. So can you.Here’s what they don’t want you to know: dark leafy greens like kale and bok choy have higher bioavailability of calcium than dairy. You absorb 35–40% of the calcium from these plants, compared to about 30% from cow’s milk. Wholemeal bread? Also around 40%. Tofu made with calcium sulphate? Another top-tier source. Fortified plant milks and yoghurts? As good as dairy, minus the suffering.Beans, almonds, chia, tahini, tempeh, oranges, cabbage - nature’s calcium buffet is wide open. No need for milk moustaches or udder secrets. Borrowed from bones?&nbsp;Your body borrows calcium from your bones when it’s not getting enough through food. That’s true. But here’s what the dairy industry skips: it also replaces that calcium constantly - if your diet includes enough of it. And enough doesn’t mean gallons of milk. It means 700mg a day for most adults in the UK. Easily met on a varied plant-based diet.Meanwhile, high calcium intake - especially from supplements - can backfire, increasing the risk of heart disease due to calcification of blood vessels. Because the body isn’t a machine. It doesn’t blindly shove minerals into bones just because you poured some white liquid over your cereal. So if it’s not about calcium… what is it about?It’s about tradition. Nostalgia. A warped idea of health that’s been drilled into us since childhood. The UK’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board still pushes cow’s milk in schools and universities. Why? Because if you don’t hook kids early, you lose future buyers.Never mind that lactose intolerance is common. Never mind the links between cow’s milk and prostate cancer. Never mind the constant flow of scientific reviews that show dairy makes no meaningful difference to bone health in people already getting enough calcium. The system knows it’s losing.Milk alternatives already make up 12% of the total milk market. Yoghurts and cheeses are catching up. In Finland, people spend €34 a year per person on plant-based dairy. In France? Just €5.90. Not because they love cows more - because tradition dies harder in some places than others. It is dying.58% of people in a global survey said they’re open to switching to plant-based dairy. The obstacles? Taste, availability, price. Not principle.That’s where brands like Oatly and Alpro come in - known by over 80% of consumers, they’re leading the charge by innovating, expanding, and branding with purpose. Because this isn’t just about food - it’s about freedom. The future doesn’t milk mothers.If you’re still clinging to the belief that cow’s milk is natural, necessary, or neutral, ask yourself: who benefits from that belief? Spoiler: not the cow.Plant-based dairy doesn’t rely on artificial insemination, stolen babies, or secretive slaughterhouses. It doesn’t require people to ignore the screams of animals who just want their babies back. It doesn’t pretend that milk is “humane” when its very existence depends on a mother’s loss.There’s a reason plant-based dairy is booming. It’s not just health. It’s not just the environment. It’s because people are waking up to the fact that the white stuff comes at a cost.And they’re no longer willing to pay it.

Milk Myths Are Crumbling

Elementary school student making disgusted face at cafeteria food

Let’s get one thing clear: flesh is already the default. At schools. At hospitals. At government buildings. At City Hall. And Zack Polanski - deputy leader of the UK’s Green Party - <a data-mce-href="https://plantbasednews.org/culture/politics/green-politician-plant-based-meals-default/" href="https://plantbasednews.org/culture/politics/green-politician-plant-based-meals-default/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">just suggested flipping that script</a>.He called on Sadiq Khan to introduce plant-based meals by default at City Hall. Not banning flesh. Not removing choice. Just making the animal-free option the starting point -&nbsp; just like meat is now.And Khan’s response? "We’ve got a good balance."Good balance for who, exactly?Because it’s not working for animals. It’s not working for the climate. And it’s definitely not working for the one in five children in the UK who can’t afford to eat properly. Default Isn’t Neutral - It’s PoliticalRight now, walking into a public canteen means being served flesh, milk, and eggs by default - unless you speak up and request otherwise. That system doesn’t feel political because it's the norm. But it is. Every default is a choice, and it says something.It says who matters. It says what kind of future we're planning for. It says whose interests get protected - and whose lives get overlooked.Polanski’s ask was simple: let’s make the default kind. Let’s make it just. Let’s make it plant-based. Default Shapes the WorldYou don't need to ban everything to create change. You just need to change what’s assumed. The default. The path of least resistance.Right now, the path leads to cages, slaughter, emissions, and inequality.Polanski offered another way forward. One that saves money. One that protects children. One that doesn’t rely on killing.It’s time to stop defending outdated habits as if they’re sacred. They’re not. They’re just defaults. And we can choose better ones. No One’s Taking Your Pig BapThe fear-mongering over “plant-based by default” plays out like clockwork: they’re coming for your cheese toastie. But that’s not what’s happening.Under this proposal, flesh and dairy don’t disappear. They’re just no longer assumed. If someone wants to eat animals, they still can - but they’ll have to say it out loud. They’ll have to opt in.And that small shift matters. Because normalising plant-based meals changes public perception. It tells the truth: it’s not radical to eat plants - it’s radical to keep killing when we don’t have to. Let’s Talk About the ChildrenFlesh is currently compulsory on school menus in the UK. That’s not a joke. By law, animals must be served to children in public schools - even when cheaper, healthier, and more sustainable options exist.So while kids are going hungry, while parents can’t afford fruit, while 20% of families are in food poverty, schools are legally obliged to serve flesh.Polanski pointed out that plant-based meals could save the NHS £54.9 million a year - money that could go into better produce, local growers, and meals that don’t come with a side of saturated fat and suffering.Why are we force-feeding inequality and animals to children, when there’s a better option? The Climate Crisis Isn’t Waiting“A third of human-caused emissions come from food,” Polanski reminded us. And the number one contributor? Animal agriculture.If we want serious climate action, we can’t just swap plastic straws and call it a day. We need systemic change - and food is one of the easiest places to start.A plant-based default in public institutions isn’t just symbolic. It sends a clear message: the era of endless animal use is over. The future is plant-based - and we’re building it now. The Cruelty-Free ManifestoThis isn’t some fringe fantasy. Polanski and Viva! gathered over 100 experts in food justice, sustainability, and health to draft a Cruelty-Free Manifesto for London. Among its recommendations:- Make public catering plant-based by default- Adopt a cruelty-free supply chain- Promote plant-based living through education and campaigns- Fund local food growing initiatives- Work with London’s vegan health professionalsThis isn’t about restriction - it’s about liberation. From climate destruction. From corporate welfare. From a food system that treats animals as units and children as afterthoughts. Khan’s Missed OpportunityFaced with this practical, evidence-based proposal, Khan defaulted to - well - the default.Choice, he said. Balance, he said. But the current system isn’t balanced. It’s skewed. It protects the status quo at all costs, even when that status quo involves killing sentient beings and underfeeding schoolchildren.This was a chance to lead. To prove London takes climate justice, food inequality, and compassion seriously. Instead, he shrugged it off. What’s Actually Radical?Serving corpses to schoolchildren like it's normal.Serving cows’ milk out of every public coffee machine like we don’t already have better options.Funding the industries most responsible for environmental breakdown with public money, while pretending it’s about “choice.”Plant-based by default isn’t radical - it’s overdue.

Serving Animals by Default Is a Political Choice

Angora wool doesn’t fall off trees. It’s not shed naturally and gathered with care. It’s stolen - torn from the backs of rabbits who are caged, mutilated, and treated as nothing more than wool-producing machines.These rabbits don’t get to run. They don’t get to dig. They don’t get to live. What Is Angora Wool?Angora wool comes from Angora rabbits - gentle, social individuals with complex personalities and strong bonds. But you wouldn’t know that from the way they’re treated.Their ultra-soft coats have been twisted into a commodity. Found in everything from high-end fashion to fast fashion, Angora wool is sold as a "luxury fibre", lumped in with cashmere and mohair. But there's nothing luxurious about what these rabbits endure. Live PluckingThe most common method of harvesting Angora wool is live plucking. That means restraining a terrified rabbit and ripping the fur from her skin — without anaesthetic, without mercy. This happens up to four times a year. Imagine your hair being yanked out in clumps, over your entire body, while you scream. That’s Angora.The fur is pulled from every part of the body except the head. The rest? Torn away, leaving the rabbit bald and defenceless against the cold.Workers have been filmed tying rabbits down, bending them into unnatural positions, and yanking their hair out by hand. The animals scream. They bleed. They don’t understand why. The Cages Are Just as BadAngora rabbits are kept in tiny wire-mesh cages. Alone. Not enough room to stretch, let alone hop. Their natural behaviours - digging, foraging, socialising - are impossible.The cages are so small they can barely move. The wire cuts into their feet. The floors become soaked in urine, and the ammonia burns their eyes.Some die from stress. Some go mad. And when their fur yield drops? Their throats are slit. Their bodies are sold for meat. Male Rabbits? Killed at BirthFemale rabbits produce more wool. That makes them more profitable. So most male Angora rabbits are killed as soon as they’re born - discarded like trash because they’re not profitable enough to be kept alive.Sound familiar? It should. The egg industry does the same thing to male chicks. The Death Toll Is StaggeringAt least 50 million Angora rabbits are bred in China every year alone. Around 90% of the world’s Angora wool comes from China — where no animal protection laws apply. None. Zero. These animals can be, and are, abused without consequence.But the problem isn’t just China. So-called “high-welfare” farms in France, for example, were exposed doing the exact same thing: tying down rabbits and ripping fur from their bodies. No matter the country, no matter the label, “humane Angora” is a marketing lie. Bred for ExploitationAngora rabbits have been selectively bred to produce unnaturally thick, fluffy coats. This isn’t how rabbits evolved — this is how humans made them.The consequences? They can’t groom themselves properly. They go blind from matted fur. They ingest so much hair they get fatal blockages. They overheat easily and suffer from eye infections, skin disease, and stress-induced illness.Their bodies aren’t built for their own coats. They’ve been genetically manipulated into suffering. Rabbits Are Individuals, Not Raw MaterialsIn the wild, rabbits are clean, curious, social animals. They dig burrows, forage for food, and maintain strong social structures. They cover a square mile of territory and clean themselves constantly.On Angora farms, they’re treated like nothing. They live in filth. They go insane from isolation. They are not seen as someone, but something.The average Angora rabbit could live up to 12 years. On farms, they’re usually killed at 2 or 3. The second their fur production dips, they’re deemed worthless and killed. Their lives cut short not because they’re dying — but because they aren’t profitable. Environmental DestructionAngora wool doesn’t just kill rabbits — it damages the planet. These farms are environmental disasters, consuming land, water, energy, and feed to prop up a niche luxury market.The Fur Free Alliance rightly calls out the fashion industry’s lies: promoting animal-derived materials as “sustainable” is false and misleading. Just like leather. Just like cashmere. Just like fur. The Industry Knows and Still Chooses ProfitHundreds of fashion brands have banned Angora after seeing the footage. They’ve seen the cages. They’ve heard the screams. They’ve watched the fur being ripped out of living, breathing rabbits.And yet Angora products still make it to store shelves. Someone still signs off on that. Someone still shrugs and says, “It’s just wool.”But it’s not just wool. It’s someone’s coat. Someone’s body. Someone’s life. There Is No Ethical Angora. Full Stop.It doesn’t matter how many labels you slap on it. “Responsibly sourced,” “high welfare,” “humane” — none of it changes the fact that fur is forcibly taken, rabbits are killed, and profit is put above life.If the word “fur” is on the label, there’s blood on it too. Your Choice MattersThis isn’t about personal taste. This is about justice.Every time you pick up a product with Angora, you’re holding the suffering of a rabbit who didn’t want to die. You’re supporting an industry that slaughters gentle beings for fashion.But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are countless cruelty-free, plant-derived fabrics — cotton, linen, bamboo, Tencel. There are brands committed to using only vegan materials. The alternatives are here.We don’t need Angora. Rabbits do. Demand Abolition, Not ReformThis isn’t a call for “better” standards. There is no ethical way to farm individuals for profit. There is no such thing as kind exploitation.The answer isn’t higher welfare. The answer is freedom.Freedom from cages. Freedom from plucking. Freedom from being born into a system that sees you as nothing but a product.Don’t settle for “not as bad.” Don’t compromise someone’s life for a slightly softer jumper. Reject the entire system.Angora rabbits are not resources. They are not sweaters. They are not mittens. They are not accessories.They are someone. And they deserve to be left alone.

What is Angora Wool?

It’s probably the most common excuse in the book: “I could never go vegan - I just love the taste too much.” As if tastebuds are some divine moral compass.But let’s be honest: many people used to love the taste. I did too. That’s not the point.The question isn’t whether you enjoy bacon. The question is whether your taste preference is more important than someone else’s life. Because that’s the deal: fifteen minutes of flavour in exchange for a lifetime stolen. Would you apply that logic to a dog? A dolphin? A child? No? Then why does it magically work when the victim is a pig or a chicken? Your tongue isn’t an ethical argument.We require more than sensory pleasure to justify something morally. If someone in another country said, “I just love the taste of dog meat,” would you accept that as a good reason to kill dogs? No? Then you’ve already agreed that taste isn’t a defence - it’s just an excuse. And a lazy one at that.Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you use taste to justify killing some animals, you have to use it to justify killing any animal. Cats. Whales. Pandas. Golden retrievers. You’ve built a moral system where pleasure justifies slaughter. Good luck sleeping with that one.Meanwhile, the only thing standing between you and a world where you stop treating sentient beings like flavour sachets is… buying a different product. That’s it. You swap cheese for vegan cheese. You buy oat milk instead of cow breastmilk. It’s not some heroic sacrifice. You’re not storming Normandy. You’re picking the plant-based option in Tesco.And for that minor inconvenience - a different choice in the supermarket - you’re sparing someone the terror of transport trucks, gas chambers, throat slitting, and electrocution baths. Does that still sound like a fair trade? A cheese toastie for a life?We always say, “I couldn’t hurt an animal.” Then we pay someone else to do it for us because we like the result on our plate. That’s the entire justification: taste. Not survival. Not necessity. Not lack of access. Just taste.Let’s stop pretending this is a complex ethical dilemma. It’s not. You just enjoy how they taste, and you’re not ready to let that go. But here’s the kicker: you don’t even have to.Going vegan doesn’t mean giving up flavour, texture, comfort food or guilty pleasures. It just means your meals stop being graveyards.I still eat pizza. Spaghetti bolognese. Lasagna. Roast dinners. Burgers. Hot dogs. You name it. The difference? Nobody had to die for it.You can have all the flavour and none of the blood. And it’s never been easier. Supermarkets are packed with plant-based alternatives. Restaurants have dedicated vegan menus. You can Google how to veganise literally any dish. You could veganise your nan’s shepherd’s pie if you really wanted to.Yet people cling to this idea that vegan food is boring and bland, as if they’ve only ever eaten raw tofu and wilted lettuce. Spoiler alert: tofu is delicious when you know what you’re doing with it. But even if vegan food were bland, that wouldn’t justify slicing someone’s throat open.Because here’s what the anti-vegan “flavour” argument boils down to: “I wouldn’t murder someone, but I’d hire someone else to do it if it meant I could eat something I enjoy.”If that logic makes you squirm, good. It should. Now apply it to the animals being used, abused, and executed because you “could never give up cheese.”They are individuals. They feel fear. They experience pain. They want to live. They are not commodities. They are not ingredients. They are not here for us.We always say, “Animals can’t speak for themselves.” But the truth is: they do. They cry out. They tremble. They run. They resist. We’re just too busy chewing to listen.So here’s the final test: put yourself in their place. Imagine it’s you in the farm, in the truck, in the kill room. Would “they like the taste” justify your death?No?Then stop using that excuse to justify theirs.

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Celebre D’Allen Died So You Could Place a Bet

The Pawprint Problem

Milk Myths Are Crumbling

Serving Animals by Default Is a Political Choice

What is Angora Wool?

Their body isn’t yours to enjoy