Activists from a animal rights group have defaced the new portrait of King Charles III.
The blood-red painting by Jonathan Yeo is the first official portrait of Charles since his coronation last year and, after being unveiled at Buckingham Palace in May, was put on public display at London’s Philip Mould Gallery, where it has remained untouched — until now.
Animal Rising, a self-described “nonviolent” group against “animal farming and fishing industries,” shared footage in an Instagram post on Tuesday of two members defacing the portrait with stickers, one of which covered Charles’ face with Wallace’s from the Wallace and Gromit franchise.
The other sticker, which was placed close to Wallace’s face, was a speech bubble that read, “No cheese, Gromit. Look at all of this cruelty on RSPCA farms!”
According to The Telegraph, the group chose Wallace and Gromit because Charles is a fan of the cartoon characters.
The stunt was reportedly brief, as gallery owner Philip Mould told CNN that the stickers used by the activists were removed in “less than 10 seconds” with “no damage” to the art. The act itself, meanwhile, successfully drew attention to a harrowing new investigative report led by Animal Rising.
The group demanded in its Instagram post that Charles, a patron of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, ask the animal welfare charity “to drop the Assured Scheme” after it investigated 45 RSPCA farms and “found animal cruelty on every single one” despite them being “assured farms,” a designation guaranteeing humane animal treatment.
In a video released on YouTube on Sunday alongside the report, Animal Rising claimed that these farms house “thousands of animals” that are “living in overcrowded and filthy sheds, living and dying in pain from a lack of care.”
Animal Rising also claimed that the “assurance scheme” has been covering up “cruelty on an industrial scale” and must be eradicated for “a sustainable and just plant-based food system” immediately.
Charles’ portrait, which was already controversial upon its unveiling, is on display until June 21.