A campaigning group is calling on the University of York to take birds off all its campus menus in memory of Long Boi.
Honouring the web-footed wonder with a statue does not go far enough, insists animal rights charity PETA.
They want the University of York to ban chicken, duck and other fowl from all campus menus.
An exceptionally tall duck, Long Boi won worldwide fame in his role as an Instagram influencer. He lived at the university’s Heslington campus for many years before he went missing and was declared dead last year.
Students crowdfunded a statue of the lofty lake-dweller, which was unveiled at the university by Radio 1 breakfast presenter Greg James at a ceremony in York last month.
Now Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has written to the Chancellor of the University of York Dr Heather Melville urging her to honour the duck’s legacy by removing the flesh of his fellow birds from all campus menus.
The group also offered to install a vegan starter kit stand next to the new statue “to help students pay a meaningful tribute to Long Boi by refusing to cut short the lives of birds or other animals”.
PETA vice president of programmes Elisa Allen said: “Just like Long Boi, every bird is an individual with a unique personality who experiences love, joy, pain, and fear and doesn’t want to be hacked to bits for their flesh any more than we would.
“PETA is urging the University of York to honour Long Boi’s memory by sparing a thought for all of his feathered brethren and leaving birds off the menu.”
The University of York declined to comment on the letter.
