A butcher is refusing to get upset after protesters left offensive signs at his business in Gloucestershire.
Father-of-one Nick Rapps, 35, said he found messages that read “rot in hell” and “cancer on you and your family” outside Molesworths Family Butchers in Frampton Cotterell.
He said the notices were left the evening before animal rights activists held a big protest in Bristol, which is around seven miles away.
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Despite admitting that the messages “turned [his] stomach”, Nick said he is determined not to let it upset him.
According to Metro, the father-of-one said: “I can’t get upset, because that is exactly what they want. The funny thing is, out of all the people they could have targeted, I’m probably the one person who is most sympathetic to that lifestyle.
“I’ve always worked in places where the meat has been ethically sourced – it’s not at all mass-produced. If these people want to have a conversation with me about that side of things, I’m actually a very understanding person.
“What did turn my stomach a bit was the cancer sign. I’ve got quite a young family, so that was a bit much.”
Nick, who has a son aged three, said he believes the “thought process just isn’t there” with whoever left the signs.
He thinks they just wrote “the most offensive thing they could” with the aim of getting a reaction, but said it has done the opposite of what was intended.
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Speaking to BBC News, he said their signs would have been better left at a supermarket selling “intensively-farmed” produce, rather than a small farm shop selling “free range organic meat”.
He told the website: “I’m aware there’s a subculture of vegan protesters but nobody deserves to have signs like that outside their shop.
“I did find it funny – one side calling me a murderer and the other side saying they wanted my family to die. I don’t want to belittle anybody, but it won’t deter me.
“This protest does make me sympathise with the overall vegan community, because it’s not doing them any favours, and many of them want to promote a peaceful existence.”
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