Veganism Removed From NHS Counter-Terrorism Materials

References to veganism have been removed from counter-terrorism training materials used for NHS staff after an intervention by The Vegan Society’s legal expert.

The organization’s legal expert on human rights, Dr. Jeanette Rowley, challenged the NHS over veganism’s inclusion in the training materials. After submitting a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the NHS, she was directed to the NHS training provider, Skills for Health. The provider eventually confirmed that references to veganism had been removed from the materials.

Prevent is the government’s counter-terrorism program that aims to stop individuals from becoming radicalized. NHS staff are taught to look for warning signs of radicalization in patients.

Dr. Rowley said in a statement that vegans and people transitioning to veganism had been “caught in the net of counter terrorism measures” for behaving in “normal” ways for people who care about animals. The change to the materials “is a critical step towards ensuring that ethical veganism, a protected belief, is not misrepresented or mischaracterised by public institutions,” she said.

Plant Based News has reached out to the NHS and Skills for Health for comment.

Vegan groups considered extremist

Armed police — Iliya Mitskavets – stock.adobe.com Vegan groups are named in a counter-terrorism policing guide

While the NHS materials referred to veganism in general, counter-terrorism police training materials name specific vegan groups.

In 2020, it came to light that a counter-terrorism guide intended for police officers, teachers, and government organizations named PETA, Animal Aid, and Sea Shepherd alongside far-right extremist groups. Environmental groups were also targeted, with Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace named in the guide.

At the time, a spokesperson for Counter-Terrorism Policing said: “The guidance document in question explicitly states that many of the groups included are not of counter terrorism interest, and that membership of them does not indicate criminality of any kind.”

In 2017, a leaked memo revealed that the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers had met with counter-terrorism police to discuss how to respond to vigils held at slaughterhouses by the animal activists from the Save movement.