Last Friday, animal rights activists in Toronto conducting their fourth protest against a game-themed restaurant called Antler Kitchen and Bar got a response they didn’t expect: one of the co-owners of the restaurant, who is also a chef, brought out a deer leg to a table in the front window and started carving it in front of the protesters.
One banner held by a protester read “Murder” in large, hot pink letters; another demonstrator held a sign that read “please add vegan steak to the menu.”
The co-owner, Michael Hunter, who hunts moose and deer with a crossbow, not only carved the leg, but then sat down at the table and ate the meat in front of the protesters.
Antler serves dishes such as “Spice Ash Crusted Rack of Deer,” and “Game Burger made with Wild Boar, Bison, Deer.”
Before the protest, the activists had posted on Facebook:
We will be holding our fourth protest at Antler. Last week was the first vegan menu board that they’ve had thanks to activists taking a stand for animals. It’s a great start, but only a start. Antler serves the cruel foie gras, they also farm animals meant to run in the wild like deer. Literature to hand out will be provided. I have some signs but please make your own if possible. This is a peaceful, non-violent protest. We need people so please come if you can.
When Hunter was asked about the protest, he responded, “Our identity as a restaurant is well known throughout the city as is our ethical farming and foraging initiatives. While we would much rather not be the focus of these protests, we are not at all surprised. We simply want to carry on running a restaurant and have a peaceful environment where our guests can enjoy their food.”
Toronto police visited the restaurant at 7 p.m. and just before 8:30 p.m. “regarding a vegan protest at a meat serving restaurant,” according to police spokesperson Jenifferjit Sidhu, adding that police came “to keep the peace and from my understanding no charges (were) laid or tickets issued.”