Birds of prey show cancelled after vegans' concern
Hopetown DarlingtonA free birds of prey display at a railway museum has been cancelled after concerns were raised by vegan groups.
Hopetown Darlington had arranged for a flying display from the Walworth Birds of Prey team to be held on 31 July.
The Darlington Vegans and North East Animal Rights groups wrote to the museum asking them to consider "not going ahead" with the event and avoid events with live animals in future.
A spokesperson for the museum said all "appropriate welfare, accreditation and safety standards were in place" but they had listened to local concerns.
Walworth Birds of Prey has been approached for comment.
'Unnatural behaviour'
The description for the event on the Hopetown Darlington website says it is a chance to come "face-to-face with hunters – from majestic owls and powerful eagles to lightning-fast falcons and striking hawks".
Kathy Barley, one of the leaders of the Darlington Vegans, said the event was not a true educational tool because"they force wild animals to perform unnatural behaviour such as flying to human cues... purely for crowd spectacle".
She said: "Darlington Vegans, along with North East Animal Rights and Freedom for Animals, are delighted to hear that the upcoming Birds of Prey event to be held at Hopetown has been cancelled.
"Rather than promoting a genuine understanding of raptor ecology, it reinforces the harmful idea that wildlife exists for human exploitation and handling."
Barley praised Hopetown for being an amazing venue and said it would continue to be "a first-class educational experience without resorting to using live animals".
The event would have seen chats with expert handlers, talks about the birds habitats, food chains, life cycles and conservation, and photo opportunities.
A Hopetown spokesperson said: "While all appropriate welfare, accreditation and safety standards were in place, we have listened to the concerns raised by local campaign groups and have taken the decision to cancel the planned Bird of Prey flying display.
"We apologise to all of the families booked onto the event."
