Animal rights charity urges UK’s largest indoor ski resort to ‘go vegan’
Stephen Price
An animal rights charity has urged the owners of the largest UK indoor ski resort which is set to open in Wales to ensure the resort is fully vegan to ‘combat the climate crisis’.
Following reports that the UK’s largest indoor ski resort has received planning permission to open in Merthyr Tydfil, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has sent a letter to Rhydycar West CEO Ali Tyebkhan, urging him to open the resort with fully vegan menus to combat the climate crisis and support local plant farmers.
If Tyebkhan agrees to the plant-powered proposal, PETA will provide free vegan cheese fondue for all skiers on the resort’s opening day.
PETA points out in its letter that ski runs throughout Europe are becoming snowless, and “having meat on the menu is like burning coal: an outdated climate catastrophe.”
They argue that The International Ski and Snowboard Federation advises “plant-forward catering,” and the United Nations encourages people to eat vegan to combat the worst effects of the climate crisis.
Valleys resident and PETA Senior Corporate Projects Manager Dr Carys Bennett said: “Instead of serving planet-destroying meat and dairy, Rhydycar West could celebrate Wales’s hard-working plant farmers and delicious, locally produced vegan fare.
“PETA is urging the ski resort to be a beacon of renewal and hope for Merthyr, Wales and the world, by opening with fully vegan menus.”
Anticipation builds
Plans for a new £300 million indoor ski slope and leisure resort were approved by councillors in January after the Welsh Government decided not to call them in.
The Rhydycar West development, on land to the south west of the A470/A4102 roundabout in Merthyr Tydfil, includes an indoor ski slope, water park, indoor activity centre, outdoor activity centre, up to 418 bedrooms of hotel accommodation, up to 30 units of woodland lodge accommodation and up to 830 car parking spaces.
It is set to be the official training headquarters for the GB and Welsh national, Olympic and Paralympic snow sports teams.
The ambitious project is now set to become a reality after Merthyr Tydfil Council’s planning committee approved it on Wednesday, January 7.
Councillor Andrew Barry said their first priority is to look after the people of the area.
He said that to pull Merthyr out of deprivation “we need positive economic solutions.”
He said they are going to have growth through applications of the magnitude that they were taking about here.
Cllr Barry said it gives them the opportunity to create small businesses and give people aspiration and he mentioned the supply chain for the development as well as growth in the local economy and the wider region.
He said: “We have the opportunity to change the whole socio economic dynamic of Merthyr here.”
Councillor Brent Carter said this project is “ground breaking” and a “complete game changer for Merthyr Tydfil.”
He said the amount of support for it is overwhelming and that he is “thrilled” about the project.
He said it would “massively support and boost our economy in Merthyr Tydfil” and said it was an ideal opportunity to confirm Merthyr Tydfil as a “world class destination of choice.
He said: “Merthyr Tydfil needs Rhydycar West.”
Councillor Clive Jones said the application will change the economy of Merthyr Tydfil and surrounding valleys and Councillor Lee Davies said it was a “once in a lifetime opportunity to put Merthyr Tydfil on the global map.”
Sharing the councillors excitement, and its potential boost for vegan businesses and local plant farmers, Carys added: “Research shows that each person who goes vegan lowers their food-related carbon footprint by up to 75% – making it conceivably the biggest way to reduce one’s negative impact on the planet – and spares nearly 200 animals a year from miserable, short lives and terrifying deaths. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.”
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits. For more information, visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Great forward looking idea…
Wool products are still vegan, just saying…
So much for freedom of choice!
Most food outlets have little or no imagination when it comes to vegan and vegetarian options on their menu. You usually have to make do with veggie burger and chips or vegetable risotto. Vegan and vegetarian food is so much more interesting and varied than that. It would be really refreshing to see some real commitment and imagination used by the new ski centre
There is no basis to claim meat production in Wales contributes to climate change. The way it works is grass, the pasture, absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, the cows eat the grass and clover and grow body mass using this extracted carbon, then we kill or milk the cattle as our food and any waste carbon is returned to the soil as manure. What does contribute to climate change is flying in avocados from Mexico, cutting down tropical rainforest to grow soya and spraying vegetable crops with pesticides and artificial fertiliser made from fossil fuels. PETA haven’t thought this through.… Read more »
Dead on arrival like most, Coop have just ended their short relationship with Suma (longstanding veggie label), have coop torpedoed the independents and now their ‘new customers’ into the bargain…my local indi has recently closed, when the supermarkets got involved and poached their best sellers it took several shops out, narrow margins…
Yes. The vegan fad has very much had it’s day with plant based food sales declining by around 25% in the last year. There are two reasons for this, firstly the realisation that most plant-based products are ultra-processed and bad for your health, and secondly the high cost of energy in Britain results in such products becoming much more expensive in relation to natural meat and dairy equivalents who have experienced a price squeeze. The alternative pro-biotic popularity of dairy produce and price has yet to feed through to the farm gate, but it will eventually.