PETA calls for pork-free menus as Peppa Pig show begins in Grimsby | Children’s theater

Campaigners are calling on theater bosses to stop serving bacon, sausages and ham in their cafes – at least while Peppa Pig and her family are performing in the same building.

Grimsby Auditorium in Lincolnshire said this week it would remove pork from the menu when Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show opens next month, following a request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta UK). The campaign group is sending vegan pork to the venue as an alternative.

Jennifer White, PETA’s associate director, welcomed the decision, saying she hoped it would remind people “that all pigs are individuals with personalities, not body parts that need to be cut up.”

Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show is touring the UK and Ireland until September. PETA contacted Grimsby after reviewing the theater’s menus and noticing a surprising amount of pork, White said. The venue approved the request, and PETA said she hopes others will follow suit.

In her letter to the theatre, Peta wrote: “While the fictional pig family comes to life on stage, real pigs lose their lives for bacon and sausages in your café. It’s a stark contrast: encouraging children to cheer for Peppa and her family one moment, then inviting them to eat pig meat the next.

“Like Peppa and [baby sister] Evie, real pigs are playful, curious, and social. But on industrial pig farms in the UK, most spend their entire short lives confined to filthy barns without sunlight.

The letter acknowledged that the show would not depict Pippa and Evie “convulsing in a gas chamber” but said “the products of this real-life suffering can be found in your café.”

The hall told PETA it will remove pork products from its Stage Door Cafe menu as a “considerate gesture” during the March 3-4 run.

White said she hopes Grimsby’s decision — and any similar moves elsewhere — will lead to meaningful conversations between parents and children about the ethics of eating animals. She encouraged families to order the free Vegetarian Pita Kit, which contains recipes and practical advice.

Peppa Pig was first broadcast in the UK in 2004, and is now shown in over 180 territories and 40 languages.

When Evie Pig was born last year, Grazia posted an interview with Mummy Pig in which she revealed the baby’s sex and speculated on what they might name her. “We have a lot of ideas for names,” she said. “Too much, honestly! Where are you!”“

Alongside more than 400 television episodes and a touring theatrical run, the franchise includes Peppa Pig World in the New Forest, which Boris Johnson praised in 2021 in a touring speech to the Confederation of British Industry.

He urged business leaders to visit, saying: “I loved it. Peppa Pig World is by far my favorite place. It has very safe streets, discipline in the schools, and a strong focus on new mass transit systems. Even if there is a bit of a Daddy Pig stereotype.”

White said she hopes all theaters and arts organizations will consider their lists.

In November, PETA said it had persuaded Chichester Festival Theater to drop pork products from its menus during a showing of The Three Little Pigs.