"A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic."
Joseph Stalin (1879-1953)
The John Lewis Partnership, owners of Waitrose, goes to great lengths to promote itself as an ethical, caring and compassionate company. The reality, however, is somewhat different. Tens of thousands of pheasants needlessly massacred each year in shoots to entertain John Lewis Partners.Up to three times a week at the Leckford Abbas Estate near Stockbridge, Hants, parties of drunken John Lewis staff blast away at the pheasants, along with ducks, grouse, squirrels, pigeons and anything else that moves.
Inevitably many of the birds, described by one sickened member of staff as "harmless creatures, so young they could barely fly", are simply wounded, only to die an agonising and prolonged death from their injuries.
The staff member tells how John Lewis' pheasants spend their first weeks "factory farmed indoors, in overcrowded conditions in the pitch dark".
Prior to the shoots, the birds are released onto the estate, but are provided with regular food and water to encourage them to remain in the area. Once a particular field has been shot, however, food and water is withdrawn, leaving any remaining birds to starve.
Boycott Waitrose and all other John Lewis stores, including WHAT YOU CAN DO
Complete a freepost customer comments card, available from the Waitrose customer services desk, asking John Lewis to stop the shoots.
- Peter Jones (Sloane Square)
- Bainbridge (Newcastle upon Tyne)
- Bonds (Norwich)
- Caleys (Windsor)
- Cole Bros (Sheffield)
- Heelas (Reading)
- Jessop and Son (Nottingham)
- Knight and Lee (Southsea)
- George Henry Lee (Liverpool)
- Robert Sale (Cambridge)
- Tewis Bros (Watford)
- Tyrell and Green (Southampton)
Phone, e-mail or write to John Lewis Partnership chairman, Stuart Hampson, 171 Victoria Street, SW1E 5NN Tel: [+44] 0171 629 7711
(adapted from National Anti-Hunt Campaign
PO Box 66, Stevenage, Herts, SG1 2TR.
Tel: 01438 746372)
Envirolink
The ALF FAQ
'Exotic' Meats
Animal Rights FAQ
Facts on BSE (VIVA)
The Taste of Depravity
The Vegan Society (UK)
BFSS : Killing For Kicks
Animal Rights Resources
The Vegetarian Society UK
The Post-Darwinian Transition
"We recognise, I hope, our special responsibilities to the aged and infirm, towards the sick, the mentally subnormal and the physically handicapped. We say that such sentient creatures that are less able to care for themselves deserve our special care and support. The same argument applies to children - and we as adults claim we recognise special duties towards them. If this is so, then why do we not recognise our special duties towards individuals from less clever species?"Richard Ryder
