Morrissey will only play venues that ban meat
Morrissey is urging all artists to insist on meat-free venues.
The 57-year-old singer demanded Sydney's Vivid Festival in 2015 ban the sale of meat in the catered venues associated with the concert hall or backstage during his four-day stint. And Los Angeles’ Staples Center closed their McDonald's outlets during his 2013 performance. While in February 2015 he canceled shows in Iceland after the Harpa concert hall refused to comply with his requests it go meat-free.
“I wish more artists would adopt this,” he told news.com.au. “But we go to China this year and it’s such a flesh-eaters paradise that we feel certain there will be skewered dog for sale somewhere."
A tradition of eating dog meat dates back some 500 years in China, South Korea and other countries, where many believe it wards off the heat in summer months.
For his forthcoming Australian leg of his tour in October that visits Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Newcastle and Wollongong, the venues have agreed to serve meat-free food, both in backstage catering and food on sale to the public, and Morrissey has said from now on he will only play venues that agree to this part of his contract.
"The halls in Taiwan and Iceland would not go flesh-free, so we refused to book the dates. It’s a matter of humanitarian progress," he railed.
The How Soon is Now singer has famously promoted vegetarianism and protested against animal cruelty since The Smiths’ 1985 album Meat is Murder.
Morrissey condemned the lack of protection afforded to all animals, and in anticipation of any criticism levelled at his views, called meat-eaters "the true cranks".
“There are laws of protection for dogs, so why not for cows? If you can be prosecuted for cruelty to a dog, then why not a cow? Doesn’t everything have the right to lead a natural life?," he questioned. "It’s the flesh-eaters that are the true cranks, and the farmers who look upon sheep and cows as their property. It is morally wrong to make money from the death of any living being.”
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