An animal rights group has put up a billboard encouraging people to go vegan after a train passenger was unable to get oat milk for his coffee at Bolton train station.
The saga started after Paul Whitley, from Hindley, was left feeling surprised after trying to get oat milk in his coffee at Bolton station’s WHSmith ‘Coffee House’, only to be told they had none.
Afterwards, the 39-year-old Tweeted in jest about the experience, posting: “I’m in Bolton train station and I asked for oat milk in my coffee and the lady told me they don’t do that kind of thing here.”
The post went viral, attracting more than three million views, and the attention of oat milk manufacturer Oatly, who gifted Paul with portable cartons of the milk alternative, so he’ll never again have to be without the milk alternative.
Now, animal rights organization PETA has taken the opportunity to promote its campaign by displaying a digital billboard on Derby Street, opposite the University of Bolton’s Deane Road Campus, just 500 metres from the railway station.
PETA says that male calves are considered a by-product of the dairy industry, and may be shot soon after birth.
@theboltonnews PETA has told Boltonians to go vegan in a new billboard. It comes just weeks after a train passenger was refused oat milk in his coffee at Bolton station. The saga started after Paul Whitley, from Hindley, was left feeling surprised after trying to get oat milk in his coffee at Bolton station’s WHSmith ‘Coffee House’, only to be told they had none.
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The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, which is a stakeholder in the Red Tractor scheme, said PETA’s claims were ‘misleading’.
According to figures released by the Rural Payments Agency, more than 30,000 male calves under the age of two months were killed on farms nationwide in 2022, down from more than 42,000 in 2018.
Dr Carys Bennett, PETA’s senior corporate project manager, said: “Calves die in the dairy industry, and the best thing you can do to help animals is to go vegan.
“Calves are considered a waste product in the UK dairy industry – thousands of them are shot in the head shortly after birth, or they’re kept in confinement to be raised for veal or beef.
“It’s completely unacceptable that this cruelty’s happening, but we can all do something to stop it right now: every time you’re ordering a coffee, a latte, a hot chocolate, or just a tea with milk, think about choosing oat milk, almond milk, or any of the numerous plant-based milks out there. It’s better for cows and their babies, it’s better for the environment, and it’s good for you too.”
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In 2020, new rules laid down by the Red Tractor scheme meant all signed-up dairy farms would have to stop the routine euthanasia of calves by the end of 2021.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, which is a stakeholder in the Red Tractor scheme, said PETA’s claims were ‘misleading’.
An AHDB spokesperson said: “Under Red Tractor standards dairy farmers must have a written breeding and management policy in place so there is no routine euthanasia of calves.
“Approximately 95 per cent of the dairy industry is Red Tractor assured.
“It is fair to say that PETA’s claims are misleading as the industry is focused on ensuring all calves are reared with care and that the practice of euthanasia of calves is eliminated.”
However, when this rebuttal was put to PETA’s Dr Carys, she disagreed.
“There is no law in place that makes it illegal for baby calves to be killed, it’s just a recommendation."
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Asked to comment on the legal situation behind the slaughter of male calves, a Department for Environmental and Rural Affairs spokesperson said there was nothing for the Government to comment on, and told The Bolton News to direct any questions to farming bodies.
But what of the man who started it all, Paul Whitley, whose simple request for oat milk has spiralled into something much larger?
“I’m not vegan, so hopefully people won’t come for me – I just prefer oat milk.
“I think it’s brilliant that they are promoting this so much in Bolton, and I’m sure there are lots of people in Bolton who enjoy an alt-milk and would like the opportunity to get that in their train station, so hopefully it might encourage WHSmith to stock more than dairy milk, maybe offer an alternative,” Paul said.
WHSmith did not respond to a request for comment.
The Sheffield resident added: “It’s all come very much by surprise, I’m quite flattered.
“I don’t want people to think I’m some kind of ‘Karen’, I’m not a big complainer. I wasn’t tweeting to complain, I just thought it was funny – and then clearly other people did too.”
A spokesperson for the north region of the National Farmers' Union of England and Wales said: “Our farmers are in the business of producing safe, affordable, traceable, climate friendly food for people to eat and whether that is growing fruit, vegetables, crops or rearing livestock, we are all trying to do it as sustainably as possible.
“What people choose to eat and drink is up to them but here in the county they can and do choose British produce from our farms, and as a result they enjoy some of the most sustainable meat and dairy products in the world.”
If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.
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