OPINION: The monarch is a hugely popular figure, despite her endorsement of controversial activities including horse racing and hunting. As the nation looks over her seven decades on the throne, it's worth examining how her reign has impacted animals.

This weekend the UK is celebrating an unprecedented milestone: the British Monarch's Platinum Jubilee.

With celebrations kicking off in central London yesterday, and hundreds of thousands of people taking the city centre to see the Royal Family make public appearances, it was clear the see Her Majesty has the support of large swathes of the public.

However, not everyone who queued to watch senior members of the family, or the Firm, as it's commonly known were fans. Among the crowds of people who'd come to watch figures like Kate Middleton ride horsedrawn carriages along The Mall to Buckingham Palace were activists with the environmental organisation Extinction Rebellion.

According to the group, which campaigns against animal agriculture, some 25 of its supporters took part in an action highlighting the monarchy's role in supporting the meat and dairy industries - despite their impact on the environment and animal welfare.

The activists scaled barriers separating the public from the parade, which featured a marching band as well as the royals in carriages and on horseback, with a handful being arrested, according to Scotland Yard.

Speaking about the action, Animal Rebellion (AR) said the advocates wanted to highlight 'the crown’s inaction on the climate emergency and their continued support for meat, fishing, and dairy'.

Yesterday's protest was not the first time AR has highlighted how the Firm is implicit in animal exploitation. A previous campaign the organisation orchestrated last August against the royals called for an end to hunting on its land.

AR said the animal agriculture and hunting which takes place on royal land 'not only decimate our environment but cause the deaths of millions of lives every year'.

It added that the royals have been protested by other animal rights groups in the past 'because of their support of hunting, racing and the fur trade', highlighting their connection to these highly contentious activities - which are largely unpopular with the public.

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Indeed the Queen, who is currently enjoying a popularity rating of 75 per cent, according to YouGov, holds a strange position when it comes to animals, and presiding over the suffering of certain species.

While Her Majesty is a supporter of some welfare organisations like the RSPB and the RSPCA (itself a controversial group due to its support of animal slaughter), she has also, throughout her reign, engaged in activities that promote egregious abuse.

For example, she is famously fond of horse racing, an industry responsible for the death of some 200 animals annually on UK tracks. This figure does not take into account the 60 per cent of the 12,000 foals born in the British and Irish racing industries every year who don't make it to the track.

The monarch has also come under fire for her support of pigeon racing, which has been branded 'extremely cruel' by animal rights activists, trophy hunting (the royal has been pictured posing by the corpse of a recently slain tiger), and, reportedly, deer stalking.

Even her infamously pampered corgis are at risk of suffering, according to PETA, which says breeding the dogs to have legs too short for their bodies means they often suffer from 'painful spine and hip ailments' among other health issues.

And it doesn't end there: in recent years, the Firm has come under increasing pressure to drop the bearskin hats worn by the Queen's Guards. Despite being offered a vegan faux fur prototype last year, the Ministry of Defence said it would continue to use the hides of slaughtered Canadian black bears for the headgear. Her Majesty appears to have remained tight-lipped on the topic.

One of the most recent controversies to hit the House of Windsor is critique of the Queen’s Green Canopy scheme, which calls on people to plant a tree to mark the Platinum Jubilee.
While the initiative itself sounds innocuous - even positive - it has garnered criticisms of greenwashing, due to some of the sponsors attached to the project, including McDonald's and Coutts. The former is implicated in the slaughter of countless animals, and both have been linked to deforestation.

Another major sponsor is Rentokil, which kills animals like rodents as well as winged insects.
Speaking about Rentokil's inclusion in the scheme, Emma Smart, campaigns coordinator at NGO Wild Card, said: "A company that profits from the extermination of bees, ants, moths, wasps and flies essential for survival of tree canopies, vital not just for nature but for humans also, is not just greenwash, it’s ecocidal."

While the monarchy rightly holds less authority than elected officials in modern times, its vast resources and influence mean it has the power to have a positive - or negative - influence over crucial issues including the treatment of animals.

Although the Queen has largely managed to win the hearts of the public, thanks to her 70-years on the throne, winning praise for her public image and stoic disposition, if she is to continue to stay popular amid the growing interest around animal rights issues, it's time for her to move away from these archaic systems of animal exploitation.

Maria Chiorando is an MSc student and freelance journalist. Her work has been published by national and regional outlets including Surge, Plant Based News, Vegan Food & Living, the Guardian and Kent on Sunday.

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