PETA Activists Barbecue A 'Baby' To Shock Passersby Into Eating Less Meat

Activists from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) Australia were captured cooking a lifelike doll on a barbecue to persuade tourists and passersby in Queensland to cut meat out of their diet.

“Babies Don’t Belong on the BBQ – Leave Lambs Alone,” read a sign next to the protesters at Wednesday’s hour-long demonstration in Surfers Paradise.

One of the protesters was dressed as a chef, pretending to grill the baby doll and prodding it with a pair of tongs as it lay next to slices of zucchini, corn and other vegetables. The baby doll was meant to challenge passersby to “see lambs for who they are — babies,” PETA Australia said on their website.

“When it comes to their capacity to suffer and feel pain and fear, a lamb is no different from a human baby,” PETA campaigns adviser Mimi Bekhechi said, according to news.com.au.

Bekhechi said those who are nauseated by the idea of consuming a newborn should think it is the same as eating a baby sheep and, hence, go vegan.

PETA Australia posted a video of the display on Instagram and wrote in the caption that "more than 20 million lambs are slaughtered every year in Australia for their flesh."

PETA spokesperson Angela Banovic spoke to Yahoo News Australia and noted the display was “pretty graphic” and “realistic.”

She also said some people were “repulsed” by it but believes the protest was a “totally reasonable response” to meat-eaters letting barbecued lamb sit on their dinner tables.

“To be honest, anyone repulsed by the prospect of chowing down on a human infant should make the connection that eating a baby sheep is equally as appalling,” Banovic told the outlet.

Banovic said the children wandering about the area during the protest were more curious than upset by the eye-catching display.

“The children I spoke to were naturally empathetic, cared about animals, and they don't really want to see them hurt,” she added.

“We had one family that came over to speak to us, and the little boy was drinking a McDonald's drink,” Banovic went on to say. “He was just saying that's a baby (on the barbecue), and lambs are baby sheep. (His family) even decided that they were going to eat vegan one day a week.”

Banovic also told the outlet that PETA’s headline-making protests are created to “change some hearts and minds” and push people into making “kind decisions about what goes on their plate.”