More on KentOnline
Home Canterbury News Article
An animal rights activist says she is “glad” the moment a man smashed her megaphone in a supermarket has gone viral as it brings “more exposure” to her cause.
Ella Wild was protesting in Asda in Canterbury when the unidentified man ripped the £60 loudspeaker from her hands and threw it to the floor.
The 25-year-old vegan, who lives in the Canterbury area, organised the demonstration with her group called Peace to All Beings around 1.30pm on Saturday in front of the lamb produce.
The activists were telling shoppers about the way animals are killed for meat at Easter, showing footage of them being slaughtered and the conditions in which some live.
Ella told KentOnline she had just begun talking when the man approached her and pulled the megaphone from her hands.
She said: “I didn't really see him coming towards me and as soon as he was next to me he had his hands on the megaphone.
“He was just pulling it. I tried to hold on to it for a little bit, but I wasn't as strong as him.
“[He] threw it down the aisle and smashed the whole thing.
“It all happened very quickly and I was in a bit of shock.
“I was a bit shaky already because it's quite a nerve-wracking thing to speak through a megaphone to lots of people.”
Other members of the group rushed to her defence with one man shouting at the man 'Hey, what is wrong with you?’.
One of the group was filming the incident, which Ella then posted on her social media pages. It has been viewed 3,000 views on TikTok and was liked and commented on thousands of times on Instagram.
Another of her videos,which saw shoppers ram protesters blocking a supermarket aisle, has been watched 66.1 million times.
However, Ella explained that in a bizarre twist – which left her “surprised” – the man apologised and offered to pay for the damage he had caused.
The activist said: “His wife pulled me aside and said, ‘I'd like to talk to you. My husband got quite angry earlier, and he'd like to apologise’.
“He was really, really apologetic and he paid to replace the microphone.
“It was nice that he realised his wrongdoings and apologised.”
Ella says she has previously received backlash over some of her videos, as well as verbal abuse.
Despite this, the protester says she is “glad” the incident in Asda happened as it brought “more exposure” to the demonstration.
She added: “Not only are some of the comments very, very harsh and nasty, but I also get private messages.
“People call me names and have said they would have done worse. People have also told me to end myself and sent me death threats.
“I think people just don't like the truth sometimes.
“It is hard for people to hear because we like to think that animals are treated well and that we have high welfare standards in this country. But that's not the case.
“I think it's a really important discussion that needs to happen, and the more exposure we get doing these protests, the better.
“So I'm really pleased that it actually went the way it did because if we hadn't had that incident, this wouldn't have been in the media and it would have gone unnoticed.”
A police spokesman said the force was called at 1.46pm to a report of a disturbance involving a small group of people.
He added: “Officers attended and spoke to those present before the group dispersed.”
KentOnline has approached Asda for comment.