"Extinction Rebellions" spin-off: "Animal Rebellion" causes a stir with new form of protest
London - Like "Extinction Rebellion", "Animal Rebellion" uses civil disobedience as a form of protest. Their opponents: expensive restaurants!

In the UK, the group has recently been increasingly occupying expensive upmarket restaurants. The peculiarity: the protest is usually only noticed at second glance.
So far, the three-star restaurant of Gordon Ramsey (56) in Chelsea, the extremely expensive restaurant of internet star "Salt Bae" (39) in London and the other gourmet temple Mana in Manchester have been among the targets.
The occupations usually follow the same pattern: the activists sit down at tables that have already been reserved in restaurants where a main course can quickly cost around 200 pounds (the equivalent of 233 euros). They don't get loud or anything else, they just sit there peacefully.
Even in the restaurant of "Salt Bae", who became famous for his special way of sprinkling salt on meat, the demonstrators refused to stand up. So the waiters carried them out the door themselves.
"Restaurants like these are symbolic of a broken system. While two million people in the UK currently rely on food banks, influencer chefs are selling gold-plated steaks for more than 1000 pounds (1167 euros)," the movement quoted one of its members as saying in a press release.
While the peaceful protests have so far gone relatively unnoticed, there were several arrests at the Mana restaurant in Manchester yesterday evening.
The arrested activists are currently still in police custody

The group is not only protesting because of the poor environmental footprint of the meat-heavy menus at Mana. They are also bothered by the high prices (195 pounds/228 euros per menu) at a time when more and more people are dependent on state support, they say in a press release.
"These expensive meals are often delivered at the expense of exploited workers, animals and our planet. Simon Martin (the chef) himself has come under fire for mistreating his staff and cruelly decapitating live animals," Animal Rebellion quotes one member as saying.
Of 16 activists from all age groups who took part in the protest, 15 were arrested, the Animal Rebellion UK spokesperson told TAG24.
At this stage, the members of the group are still in police custody on suspicion of trespassing, the spokesperson added.
The arrests have not deterred the group from carrying out further such actions. In the future, they "definitely want to occupy more restaurants without violence", the group spokesperson concluded when asked by TAG24.
What is the difference between "Extinction Rebellion" and "Animal Rebellion"?

As "Animal Rebellion" is a kind of subgroup of "Extinction Rebellion", both organizations basically pursue the same demands.
They want governments to recognize the existential threat posed by climate change to all forms of life and to take immediate action to combat the causes and consequences.
Carbon neutrality should be achieved by 2025 in order to reach the 1.5 degree target and prevent large-scale species extinction.
In addition to elections and parliaments, they are also calling for more direct democracy, for example in the form of citizens' councils that work together with politicians.
The German branch of "Animal Rebellion" also emphasizes its full solidarity with the climate activists of "Extinction Rebellion" on its website.
They differ simply in that "Animal Rebellion" focuses on promoting ecological agriculture and trying to convince society as a whole to adopt a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.