'Dog roast' vegan protest stuns visitors to Henley Royal Regatta

It showed a lurcher dog 'being cooked' under a banner that read 'The Great Dog Roast' and took place on July 3 in Henley.

A crowd of 300,000 were gathered to witness the rowing event attended by celebrities and royalty.

Attendees at the Henley Royal Regatta were stunned (Image: SWNS)

A silicone model was used for the stunt, which was organised by leading vegan campaigning charity, Viva!, in a bid to "challenge the perception that it’s socially acceptable to eat some animals but not others".

Juliet Gellatley, Viva’s founder and director, said: "This Viva! stunt pushed boundaries and had the desired effect of shocking thousands of people into facing the reality that eating pigs, cows and other animals isn’t so different to eating dogs.

"As a nation of animal lovers, our pets are part of our family, so the thought of someone eating a dog naturally caused upset from many members of the public.

"Our message to them is simple: if you feel disgust at the idea of someone eating a dog, then the same sentiment should be applied to pigs, chicks and other animals."

The model depicting a dog being roasted (Image: SWNS)

'The Great Dog Roast' menu featured items like ‘pulled dog meat bap’, 'the woofing squealer’ and ‘naked dog’.

The scene attracted large numbers of people who, feeling appalled to see dog meat on the menu, debated with the animal rights charity.

Ms Gellatley said: "About three quarters of those who talked to the Viva! team decided to cut down, or cut out their meat consumption after being confronted with their hypocrisy."

According to the UK's largest vegan charity, more than one billion animals are killed for food in the UK each year, with 85 per cent of these spending their lives in factory farms.

The stunt was organised by vegan charity Viva! (Image: SWNS)

Viva! claims the suffering of farmed animals is continuously swept under the carpet.

Ms Gellatley said: "Animals killed for food share many characteristics with our pets.

"They play, feel happiness and sadness and want to avoid pain.

"Pigs love belly rubs, learn very quickly to sit and pirouette on command, and are so intelligent, they even play computer games with a joystick.

The event welcomed crowds of more than 300,000 people (Image: SWNS)

"But while we cherish and mourn our pets when they die, a billion UK farmed animals are killed needlessly each year."

She added: "We knew this stunt would upset people, but what they should be more upset about is the way farmed animals are treated.

"To feed humanity’s demand for meat, dairy, fish and eggs, we keep most animals in cruel factory farms, where they live in cramped, filthy conditions.

"If you truly care about animals, go vegan."