PETA to barbecue a 'dog' in Sydney mall

PETA will stand in the middle of the mall from 10am tomorrow under a banner that reads "If You Wouldn't Eat a Dog, Why Eat a Lamb? Go Vegan!" Photo / Getty Images

It's one of Australia's biggest malls, a place thousands of people meander through every single day, which makes it the perfect place for PETA to hold its next confronting demonstration.

The animal rights group will take over Sydney's Pitt Street Mall tomorrow to barbecue a "dog" in the middle of the shopping precinct for an hour to raise awareness that dogs are "no different to lamb, cows or chicken".

PETA will stand in the middle of the mall from 10am tomorrow under a banner that reads "If You Wouldn't Eat a Dog, Why Eat a Lamb? Go Vegan!"

PETA's Emily Rice told news.com.au the barbecued dog was fake, made by a British prop designer, but the organisation was adamant it would still send a strong message.

"We'll have a barbecue chef there running through the motions of barbecuing a dog. It's staged but I can tell you, the dog isn't pretty," Ms Rice said.

While shoppers won't have to worry about blood or the demonstration being gory, Ms Rice said it would be "thought-provoking".

"He's a dog and he's charred-looking. It's not gruesome but it's no different to when you'd walk past a Peking duck hanging in a shop window or a pig on a spit at a wedding," she said.

On occasion, PETA has been forced to defend itself for its demonstrations, however Ms Rice said the organisation was used to mixed reactions.

"It's always mixed, it can be confronting to challenge what people think of as normal and it will be an emotionally charged day but if we manage to plant some seeds and start a conversation speciesism then that's a good thing," she said.

"We want people to think about why they're happy to love one animal but eat another."

Considering the thousands of people who will walk past the animal rights advocates tomorrow, Ms Rice said she wouldn't be surprised if some people reacted in anger.

"It's all going to be very peaceful … nobody ever likes to peak behind the curtain of what they turn a blind eye to but meat eating and its relationship with climate change is something we need to be talking about now," she said.

"When it comes to the capacity to suffer and feel pain and fear, a dog is no different from a lamb, a pig, a chicken, or a cow.

"PETA is urging anyone who's repulsed by the prospect of chowing down on dog meat to extend that compassion to all other animals and go vegan."