Concerned campaigners held a 12-hour vigil at a turkey, duck and chicken processing site in a bid to persuade people to “leave animals off their plate” at Christmas.
A total of 40 members of Derbyshire Animal Save – a community group dedicated to protesting against the slaughter of animals – gathered at the Hatton base of Faccenda.
The group gathered at the Scropton Road site from 9.30am until 9.30pm to "bear witness to the animals going in to be gassed for people’s Christmas dinner."
A group spokesman, Lindsey Banton, urged people to show more compassion towards animals.
She said: "We were there to bear witness to the animals going in to be gassed for people’s Christmas dinner.
"We were there to get their faces out there so that people can see that what they are eating was a living being that didn’t want to be murdered, we want to show people that you can have a compassionate Christmas by leaving animals off your plate.
"When you bear witness and look into the animals' eyes, you can see their fear and their want for life... we ask people to join us at future vigils to be there for the animals and to spread the message of love and compassion for all. It may help people connect to what they eat."
Lindsey has been a part of the group for a year after attending an event with Essex Pig Save.
She said that being a vegetarian or vegan wasn’t enough for her and she wanted to do more to help.
"Having witnessed the cry of mother cows in a field one day bellowing for their babies that had been taken away, I realised being vegetarian wasn’t enough,” she said.
"I then changed to vegan as there are so many hidden cruelties in the dairy and egg industry that people are unaware of.
"Many people I have spoken to don’t realise a calf has to be born to produce milk, and if the calf is born male it is looked upon as a waste product and will be shot at birth or may have a few months of life separated from its own kind, fed a supplement, and slaughtered for veal.
"After being vegan for a year I realised the message needs to be spread, so this is why I believe activism is so important."
The group also held a vigil outside M Najib and Sons in Foston, Derbyshire last year.
Faccenda, established in 1962 from a single chicken farm in Brackley, now turns over £550 million in profits a year and employs 3,500 people.
It processes 100 million chickens and turkeys a year from its six UK sites in Brackley, Hatton, Dudley, Telford, Gwent and Market Rasen.
Faccenda currently supplies three of the four major UK retailers with whole birds, portions, added value, rotisserie and seasonal products.
A Faccenda spokesman said the group's request for a peaceful vigil had been accommodated as much as possible.
He said: "We were approached by Derbyshire Animal Save who asked if they could hold a peaceful vigil outside our site.
"We appreciated their willingness to engage with us beforehand and we tried to accommodate their request as best we could."
