Peta wants Aberaeron Mackerel Fiesta to celebrate cabbage instead

Animal rights campaigners are calling on the coastal town of Aberaeron to rethink its traditional end-of-season event. Instead of the yearly mackerel festival, they suggest celebrating the modest cabbage in a fresh, plant-based alternative. The current festival is described as “a light-hearted funeral” dedicated to the mackerel, a fast-swimming fish that is central to the town’s fishing heritage.

PETA, an organization advocating for the ethical treatment of animals, has proposed transforming the event into an “animal-friendly” and “kinder” festival focused on Welsh produce, specifically cabbages. In their campaign, the group reached out to Lloyd Thomas, president of the Aberaeron Yacht Club, suggesting that the town could host an Aberaeron Cabbage Fiesta instead of the mackerel-focused celebration. They also offered to supply a large papier mâché vegetable to replace the traditional mackerel figure used during the festivities.

The current event includes a ceremony where a giant papier mâché mackerel is paraded through Aberaeron to the yacht club. There, the fish figure is blessed before being set aflame at sunset. This procession honors the town’s fishing roots, which councillor Elizabeth Evans defended by emphasizing that “fishing was part of our heritage in Aberaeron,” whereas “the growing of cabbages is not.”

In their letter to Thomas, PETA encouraged the community to “let fish off the hook and transform the Aberaeron Mackerel Fiesta into a kinder event.” The group highlighted that choosing to celebrate plant-based produce over fish would align better with “the compassion and warmth Wales is known for.” They also suggested that such a change could boost support for local cabbage farmers. Closing their appeal, PETA expressed hope that Aberaeron might “turn over a new leaf and let mackerel swim free.

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More