There are calls for the eggs to be replaced with dyed Easter potatoes – a more animal-friendly alternative
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Animal rights organisation PETA has called on Preston Council to re-think how it celebrates its annual Easter egg roll by swapping eggs with dyed Easter potatoes – a more animal-friendly alternative.
Preston’s annual Easter egg roll, one of the oldest events of its kind in the UK, sees hundreds of people roll decorated eggs down Avenham hill each year.
In a letter to the council, PETA said replacing eggs with potatoes would make the event more inclusive, particularly for people who do not eat eggs for health, cultural, religious or environmental reasons.
Elisa Allen, PETA’s vice president of programmes, said: “Children love animals and would be sad to learn that the eggs used for fun and games at Preston’s egg-rolling event come from tormented hens who live miserable lives on Britain’s farms.”
The group also highlighted conditions on what it described as “filthy farms”, where “thousands of hens are confined to dark, filthy sheds, often unable to stretch their wings fully”.
The organisation has also written to the White House.
In its letter to First Lady Melania Trump, PETA proposed rebranding the White House Easter Egg Roll as the “Make America Great Easter Potato Roll”.
“Easter should be a time of renewal and joy for all sentient beings – and that means hens, too,” Allen added.
PETA said: “When the birds’ worn-out bodies can no longer produce enough eggs to be profitable, they’re sent to slaughter, often to be turned into ‘low-grade’ meat because their flesh is so bruised and battered.”
The free event is expected to draw thousands to the slopes of Preston's Avenham Park, in what the council has called "one of Preston's most cherished Easter traditions".
Egg rolls are set to take place on the hour, every hour, on Easter Monday.
In more recent years, many have turned to using decorated chocolate eggs in place of real ones.
