A group of animal rights activists who protested outside of a Toronto restaurant known for serving game meat said they were shocked when they say the co-owner came out and carved up an animal leg in front of them.
Marni Ugar organized a protest on Friday, outside of the restaurant Antler Kitchen & Bar, located in the city鈥檚 west end. The small restaurant serves locally foraged ingredients, wild foods and meats including wild boar, venison, bison, and duck.
Although it鈥檚 known for serving meat, Antler also offers a number of vegetarian options such as lentil and beet salad, chestnut gnocchi, and vegetable lumpia.
The animal rights activist said she became aware of the restaurant in December, when she noticed a sidewalk board out front that read, 鈥淰enison is the new kale.鈥� Ugar said she started researching more about the restaurant and took issue with the owners鈥� claim that they offer 鈥渆thical, humane meat.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any such thing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very misleading because they鈥檙e calling these animals wild animals, the deer and the boar, but they鈥檙e actually being farmed. So they鈥檙e not living in the wild. They鈥檙e just being bred and killed.鈥�
Ugar also said the inclusion on the menu of foie gras, the liver of a goose or duck that has been criticized by animal rights groups for how it鈥檚 produced, is another reason she doesn鈥檛 believe the food they serve is ethical.
, set up by Ugar, the animal rights activists want Antler to offer patrons less meat and more vegan options.
鈥淟ast week was the first vegan menu board that they鈥檝e had thanks to activists taking a stand for animals. It鈥檚 a great start, but only a start,鈥� the event鈥檚 description reads.
鈥業t鈥檚 just an animal鈥�
Friday鈥檚 protest was the fourth such event the small group of about a dozen members has held outside the restaurant since December, according to the Facebook page.
Armed with signs bearing phrases such as 鈥淢urderer鈥� and 鈥淎nimals are not ours to use,鈥� the protesters stood outside of the restaurant鈥檚 front window and chanted slogans during the evening dinner rush.
In the middle of the protest, Ugar said the restaurant鈥檚 co-owner and chef, Michael Hunter, brought out a large deer leg and started carving it at a table directly in front of the window for about five or ten minutes.
鈥淲e were in shock,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just an animal and we felt sad. For me, I felt sad for a few days after seeing that.鈥�
Ugar said that Hunter then walked back to the kitchen with the meat he had just cut up. Approximately half an hour later, he returned holding a plate with a grilled piece of meat on it. Ugar said the chef sat down at the table in front of the window and ate what was presumably the deer meat.
Ugar said she thinks the group鈥檚 weekly protests were getting to Hunter and that he carved up the meat in front of them in retaliation.
鈥淗e wanted to get us back, which I guess is easy to do. We鈥檙e only there because we love animals,鈥� she said.
The restaurant and Hunter did not respond to a request for comment, but the chef was quoted as telling The Globe and Mail that the continual protests were hurting his business.
鈥淭his is who we are and what we do,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e offending us; I鈥檓 going to offend them. So I went and got a deer leg.鈥�
He told the newspaper that he later regretted the move because he felt he had 鈥減layed into them [the protesters].鈥�
Toronto police confirmed they were called to the restaurant twice that evening regarding a 鈥渧egan protest at a meat-serving restaurant.鈥� Officers attended to 鈥渒eep the peace鈥� and no charges were laid or tickets issued, Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu said in a statement to CTVNews.ca on Tuesday.
Since the event was livestreamed by one of the protesters, the reaction has been mixed online.
Some social media users defended Hunter鈥檚 actions and praised the restaurant.
鈥淣ext time I鈥檓 in Toronto I鈥檓 dining at Antler,鈥� with a link to a story about the protest.
鈥淭hanks vegans. I'll put Antler on my restaurant visit list next time I'm in T.O.,鈥� one Facebook user posted on the protest鈥檚 event page.
鈥淲ow I love that Antler restaurant. The chef had a great demonstration the other night of how to properly butcher a hind quarter of a deer. It's so amazing to know that what I am eating is that fresh,鈥� another user wrote. 鈥淚'm not sure what the protesters were doing outside but it was hilariously entertaining.鈥�
Others criticized the restaurant owner鈥檚 tactics.
鈥淓verybody should boycott Antler! Sounds disgusting and as we can tell, the restaurant obviously doesn鈥檛 care about lives. Disgusting. If anybody knows if that 鈥淐hef鈥� has a Twitter, let me know,鈥� .
鈥淢aybe the folks at Antler will treat you to an appetizing, tableside mutilation,鈥� in response to Oswalt鈥檚 tweet.
Ugar said she reached out to Hunter via email and offered to reduce the protests to once a month in exchange for him putting up an animal rights sign in the restaurant. She said he counter offered to take her on a foraging excursion with other vegans, to which she has yet to respond.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very nice offer but I just want to sit down and talk,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 prefer dialogue over fighting.鈥�
Until that sit-down happens, Ugar said she plans to continue her group鈥檚 weekly protests outside of the restaurant.
鈥淭his is not an attack on a restaurant or a person. For me, it鈥檚 all about being a voice for animals.鈥�
