On Tuesday, animal rights activists targeted the first official portrait of King Charles since he became King of Britain, affixing a large image of the famous cartoon character "Wallace" over the king's face in a protest regarding animal welfare in farms. Footage from the organization "Animal Rising" showed two of its supporters approaching the painting at the Philip Mould gallery in London and covering the king's face with a large image of Wallace from the animated comedy series "Wallace & Gromit." They also attached a statement saying: "No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty in farms certified by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals."
The "Animal Rising" organization stated that the aim of their supporters' actions is to highlight the cruelty used in farms that have been granted "assured" status, which is a guarantee of higher care standards provided by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, operating under the patronage of King Charles. These actions have prompted outrage from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which said: "We were shocked by this vandalism of His Majesty’s portrait, who is our patron. We welcome scrutiny of our work, but we cannot overlook any illegal activity of any kind," adding that the charity takes any claims regarding the certification of any farms very seriously.
Daniel Goodeber, one of the activists involved with "Animal Rising," stated in a message on the organization's website: "Since King Charles is a big fan of Wallace & Gromit, we couldn't think of a better way to draw his attention to the horrific scenes on farms that have been certified by the Society." He expressed hope that "Charles will seriously reconsider whether he wants to be associated with the dreadful suffering in certified farms." Buckingham Palace stated that they have no comment, while "Animal Rising" confirmed that what the activists affixed could be easily removed without damaging the portrait.
