"Wallace & Gromit"

Animal rights activists paste over portrait of King Charles

Animal rights activists pasted over the portrait, which was unveiled around a month ago, with the head of the cartoon character Wallace.(Bild: APA/Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP)

In protest at alleged abuses on British farms, animal rights activists have pasted over a new portrait of King Charles III with the motif of a popular cartoon character.

The British monarch is patron of the animal welfare organization RSPCA, which certifies food from species-appropriate husbandry. However, the organization Animal Rising criticizes terrible conditions on dozens of farms and calls on the head of state to relinquish his honorary title.

Wallace instead of Charles
On Tuesday, Animal Rising activists pasted the face of the cartoon character Wallace from the animated film "Wallace & Gromit" over Charles' face at the Philip Mould gallery in London.

The bright red painting by artist Jonathan Yeo was unveiled around a month ago and is the first official portrait of the King since his coronation. The activists also added a speech bubble with the text: "No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!" The reason given was that the King is a fan of the comic series.

The bright red painting was unveiled around a month ago.(Bild: APA/Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP)

Animal rights activists want to "tell the truth about animal welfare"
"Charles has made it clear that he cares about the suffering of animals on British farms," said Daniel Juniper, the activist involved. "Now is the perfect time for him to get involved and call on the RSPCA to repeal the Assured Scheme and tell the truth about animal farming."

A report published on Sunday by Animal Rising accuses the RSPCA farms of countless acts of cruelty and suffering. These include dead and dying chicks, dead pigs left on farm roads and salmon eaten alive by sea lice - small crustaceans.