Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi ‘Adopts’ Lambs to Promote Meat-Free Easter

Easter is a holiday with profound religious meaning for many people across the globe, and a time for friends and family to gather and celebrate, usually with a big dinner. With Easter falling in the spring, when fresh fruits and vegetables are in abundance, having a meat-free dinner is easy. And Former Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi agrees. Berlusconi recently teamed up with the Italian League in Defense of Animals and the Environment for a video campaign in Support of choosing a meat-free Easter. The now viral video shows Berlusconi cuddling, kissing, and feeding the lambs with a baby’s bottle, with a sign saying “Defend life, choose a vegetarian Easter” in Italian.

Berlusconi even symbolically “adopted” five lambs that would have been butchered for Easter and urged viewers to do the same. Sounds like a great message of compassion to celebrate for Easter. But Berlusconi is now facing criticism from, you guessed it: Italy’s meat industry. 

Traditionally, Italians eat lamb or goat on Easter Sunday but with the growing success of vegetarian campaigns, consumption of these animals has declined sharply. Italy’s butchers’ lobby Assocarni must realize eating meat is soon to become a thing of the past because the lobby organization attacked Berlusconi and called on advertisers to boycott his television channels and publications.

What many people don’t realize is that cows, chickens, sheep, pigs, and goats are not, in fact, “stupid” animals who don’t care about their fate. To the contrary, these animals are highly intelligent and experience emotions in a very similar to humans. Knowing this, it seems absurd that we would continue to subject them to such pain and suffering in their lives.

If you would like to join Berlusconi in spreading the message of compassion this Easter, you can also “adopt” a farm animal of your own and help contribute to the care of an adorable rescued animal. And if you’re looking for Easter recipes sans meat, fear not! Click here for a ton of delicious options.

Image Source: Lega Italiana Difesa Animali e Ambiente/Instagram