Morrissey urges critics to ‘donate your own body’ as response to animal fat-containing new £5 notes

The Smiths frontman describes Bank Of England's use of tallow in polymer notes as 'basic savagery'

Morrissey has released a statement in response to news that the new British five pound polymer note containing animal fat.

The new £5 notes entered circulation in September. Made of polymer, rather than paper, the notes are considered more durable and long-lasting than their older counterparts. Plastic money is already used in such countries asAustralia, Canada, Romania and Vietnam.

Animal rights activists have called on the Bank of England to replace the notes, despite the inventor stating that the notes only contain “trivial amounts” of tallow, an animal fat. “The new £5 notes contain animal fat in the form of tallow. This is unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the UK,” a petition signed by 129,366, so far, reads. “We demand that you cease to use animal products in the production of currency that we have to use.”

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Well-known vegan Morrissey has since released a statement via fan site True To You, describing the usage as “basic savagery” and urging those who disagree with him to “donate your own body to the Bank Of England for decorative use in future five pound notes”.

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His full statement reads: “If it had been revealed by the Bank of England that the new British Five Pound note contained slices of cat or dog, the country would be in an uproar. But because we have been trained to accept the vicious slaughter of cows, sheep and pigs, the UK media can only make light of the use of tallow in the new British fiver because animal slaughter is thought to be outside of the human grasp and concern. However, whether you care about animals or not, the use of their sliced bodies in the new five pound note evokes a mood and a vibration that displays a gaping hole in human intelligence and in the human race as a compassionate idea. It also tells us that the Bank Of England has no understanding of doing anything in our time that revives the human image from basic savagery. If you feel that the use of animal flesh should not be a moral issue, then you should assert your conviction by donating your own body to the Bank Of England for decorative use in future five pound notes.”

Meanwhile, Morrissey has cancelled his rescheduled US tour and ranked all his audiences from 2016 gigs.

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