A climate protestor was forcibly removed from an upmarket Weymouth seafood restaurant after attempting to speak with Sir David Attenborough as he dined.
Marine biologist Emma Smart was reportedly “dragged” out of Catch at the Old Fish Market on November 17. She had been trying to engage Attenborough in a discussion about the climate crisis. She also wanted to ask him to use his platform to call for vital food system changes.
Video footage of Smart being removed shows her shouting: “David, I’m a scientist. David, please.” Moments later, while face down on the pavement and being handcuffed, she stated that she is taking action for the future of her children.
Smart, also an Animal Rebellion activist, attempted to pass a letter to Attenborough. In it, she asked him to meet with her for five minutes “for all life on Earth.”
Weymouth, on the English Channel coast of England, is thought to be at significant risk of sea level changes, as a result of the climate emergency. Flood risks have increased to the point where Smart predicts that the town will be largely uninsurable in coming years.
Seafood and the climate crisis
Industrial fishing is intrinsically connected to the climate emergency.
Massive catching operations severely deplete various species and contribute to a biodiversity crisis. Discarded fishing equipment also poses a serious threat to marine life. This comes in the form of altering their habitats, and therefore their life spans. Simply entangling animals for the remainder of their lives is also a consequence.
Emissions from fishing vessels can’t be ignored either, as they contribute to a cycle of marine destruction.
As global heating increases due to greenhouse gas emissions, Earth’s oceans are getting warmer. Since 1901, it’s been estimated that the global sea surface temperature has increased by 1.5°F. This is because oceans contain 90 percent of the heat created by human-induced global warming. Such changes impact currents and climate patterns globally, thereby setting in motion a cycle of destruction and further biodiversity loss.
For these reasons, amongst others, animal and climate justice group Animal Rebellion is calling for support to help fishing communities, such as Weymouth, to transition to a plant-based food system.
The organization also told Dorset Live that it was disappointed to see leading climate activist Attenborough dining in a luxury seafood restaurant. It added that the location charges a minimum of £65 per person.
“The Catch is a symbol of excess and inequality in today’s world. Weymouth has average wages amongst the lowest in The UK and is at huge risk of sea level rises. Yet this restaurant still continues business as usual amongst the worst cost-of-living crisis many will ever experience,” Smart said in a statement.
Attenborough’s climate activism
Through his numerous nature shows, Attenborough has increasingly been discussing the climate crisis.
Though he has ditched red meat from his diet, Attenborough admitted last year that he still eats fish and chicken. We don’t know what diet Attenborough follows now, or what he was eating at the restaurant.
Activists – including Smart – want to see the beloved British presenter setting more of an example by not eating at seafood restaurants and being vocal about the need to move to a plant-based diet.
“We don’t need another documentary series showing us that we are losing, some 150 species going extinct globally every single day. What we need is action. Sir David is in a unique position to tell the truth about the biodiversity crisis. He has the chance to leave a legacy of love, care, and of being the forerunner of a better world,” Smart concluded.
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Yes if the big guys do not back activist then who can blame the rest who threaten and
Question then
Are you kidding me? You’re really going to call out David Attenborough for eating seafood at an upscale restuarant? This man has done more for raising awareness on Climate Change, Habitat Loss and many other destructive trends caused by or contributed to by humans. This man gets my vote for Best Human on the Planet. When he eventually passes away there will an outpouring of grief unseen in recent times. He’s 96 years old, for God’s sake! And you take him to task! Shame on you. How do you know that the seafood he was eating was not farmed in a sustainable fashion? And hasn’t he the right to spend his money, richly deserved, as he sees fit? Not everyone was cut out to be Vegan, and if you really want to change the world for the better, stop trying to impose your choices on others.
You are right as far as you go but I consider Attenborough to be wrong climate change is happening the earth goes through changes every 18 thousand years ice age to warming it is all due to the earth and sun relationship and the tilt in our axis.we are destroying the world we need to remove all the rubbish from the sea and stop using one use plastic this we can do but stop climate change – no, this beautiful earth we live on has been doing this for for 4 billion years xx
What a delusional comment. 7 billion humans plaguing the earth with plastic and rubbish or releasing untold amounts of pollution and toxins into our atmosphere has not been happening for the past “4 billion years”. Get over yourself.
(Just to add that not every human is to blame. We know who the biggest polluters are)
Someone with some sense. Yes, Climate is always changing and human’s mark on Climate change on the big picture is very minuscule. We still need to find better ways to keep our world clean, but this fear mongering the Mainstream media puts out of the planet failing in a few years is preposterous
There people are seriously deranged.
Don’t worry ,the vegans will save our planet for your family too!
Respect for another individual (likeDavid) would be better. A letter can also be sent by post
Twat
I’ve thought for years that Attenborough is a hypocrite
Sir David Attenborough is not a vegan nor plant based or even ethical. He promotes a life w/out using animals but eats them. There is a word for that. Sick of these rich people that don’t live by what they preach.
Perhaps don’t harass him? Do you want me to come and harass you when you are out for a meal? I do not share your sentiment but you have a right to them, however share them in the right settings and platforms. All you are achieving is a bad look for yourself and others who share your ideals. Harassing an old man who has done so much for the preservation of our planet is just…. Dumb.
I love how woke we have become. Global warming now officially known a “global heating” – honestly I can’t take articles like this seriously.
They may call Smart crazy, but she is desperately trying to reverse or delay what is sadly inevitable. I hope she is okay.
Come on. We all know he doesn’t really care
Throw her in jail. Sir David Attenborough has done more to raise awareness for wildlife and habitat than any human in the history of mankind. He’s in his 90s now and having a nut “environmentalist” harassing him is not helping anything or anyone. Where do these liberal wackos come off trying to destroy art and harassing one of the greatest environmentalest of our time? Stop protesting and harassing and learn to teach, stop being idiots. No one listens to emotional idiots. If anything, it’s a turn off.
Sir David is more than years of age and has
paid his dues to society please let Sir David
eat whatever he chooses and dine in privacy!
Leave people alone when they are eating. Nobody wants to listen to whatever your issue is when you interrupt their personal time.
Well written article explaining a difficult and complex set of issues. Enthralled for years with the programs hosted by Sir David Attenborough, I have found the sound of his voice that of a kindly uncle telling a story or lesson by firelight. I’m glad he’s a host rather than a vacuum salesman!
So yes, I see Smart’s logic; enlist the support of Sir David in recognizing the danger and most importantly our lack of time. It’s a shame that it culminated in a scuffle and her forced removal, but had that not occurred, then I’d more than likely never heard of the incident.
If I were a young person with a life ahead of me, I’d be incredibly angry at the thoughtless greed that has brought us to this crisis! Aversion to change got us here. We know the earth will change in response to higher temperatures, and predictions of the ramifications are playing out much faster than expected.
Because of our pollution & the political arguments of causation has brought us to a tippling point. We now may be unable to stop the progress of climate change, and as a result, only just react to this changes. Millions will be forced to evacuate coastal cities, creating homelessness, job loss, plus radical disruptions to global as well as national markets.
Meanwhile the Earth? Yes it will change, just as it has continuously since it was created. Sometimes gradually, sometimes violently. And all without consideration of humans.
Now humans have started something that they can’t even agree whether or got we caused it. Much less how to react to the change. Regardless, Earth will go about this change and it is us who will be required to adapt to the upcoming climate and physical changes, resulting in death, disease, and disruption to the majority of life forms.
The time for prevention is past, now it’s a matter of seeing if we can even reduce its effects, much less avoid them.
We need people with a high profile to do just what Ms Smart was asking Mr Attenborough to do , use there platform to wake people up before it’s too late .
Sir David would be more than pleased to share expertise, and to refine Animal Rebellion into something more sustainable, something more informed, given the courtesy due any hero of Nature. What a wasted blessed opportunity lost!!
What an absolute disgrace. Attacking a man who has done more for the environment than an entire generation of vegans. DA has earned the right to eat anywhere he bloody well pleases having earned his income 3 fold. If she truly wants her message heard attacking DA will do nothing more than having it shut down before it gets anywhere. Use your head guys!
How rude are you!
Protesting for David Attenborough or anyone to be perfect plant based is a lot to ask, people are human beings and can only act up to where they can. DA has been inspirational and informative in our lives and sometimes we put people we respect on just too high a pedestal
I have been an admirer of David Attenborough for many years and his work for the planet and all creatures who live on it. I must say I’m quite surprised to learn he does not follow a vegan diet.
Hassling one of the good guys is the most atrocious decision. Everyone knows him, should he have to be harangued by everyone with an opinion – does he not deserve any privacy? If people are shitting in the woods, the ones who say “we shouldn’t be shitting in the woods” aren’t the ones to shout at…
Attenborough is a hypocrite. He bankmgs on about climate change but eats fish.
I was disappointed with David Attenborough when he spoke to a large crowd at Glastonbury a couple of years ago. He promoted his forthcoming series on television but gave no mention of the leading cause of climate change, the livestock industry. This was a great opportunity to enlighten a captive audience but I guess this is not his priority. Sad.
Good. That is not the way you approach someone for help.
An utterly entitled & arrogant stalker “self appointed activist”
Erm, I expect he wanted not to be harassed whilst eating, and perhaps someone as famous as him needs the privacy of a more expensive venue in order to do that. There are official channels he can be contacted by, so passing notes in a restaurant shouldn’t be required. I still eat chicken and fish, because I need some healthy protein. Maybe he does too, at his age. There’s also nothing unethical about a restaurant continuing to trade even though most can’t afford it. That was true before the crisis and is still the same now. Another example of reporters blowing things out of proportion in order to create a story. Go and pick on Elon Musk or someone else who actually is going out of their way to do very destructive things. We all have to eat.
Yum yum!! Hope Sir David enjoyed his meal regardless of being disturbed
Well done guys.! We are all relying on you, the next generation, to bring about life style changes to save our beautiful planet and inhabitants . Vegan is the future!
Contraception is the future
This preachy writing is full of unproven opinions, hyperbole, the condoning of uncivil behaviour and Emperor-level sanctimony and is, well, five minutes I’ll never get back. God help this woman’s daughter.
As the climate deteriorates, more and more protesters will be criminalised ( Handcuffs this time!), as politicians bravely protect the polluters.
The divide will become more and more pointed, and if you haven’t already done so, start to think where YOU stand on the climate crisis, and if against it, be prepared to become criminalised.
Jeez, poor David Attenborough. He could have just been enjoying just an occasional piece of fish. Suddenly his personal choices, private time and right to not be intruded upon are invaded by some maniac nutjob. Heaven help situations like this.
David Attenborough, as per many of the population, are the wrong targets for what are becoming environmental idiots rather than activists. Accept Government doesn’t listen, but for inappropriately timed money making exercises as per the Mayor of London. David Attenborough has likely done more though in his little finger for the planet than most of these disruptive fools could do in a lifetime. Let him enjoy a meal in peace !
It saddens me to hear she was treated that way when all she wanted was his input. I think he’s a hypocrite and maybe she was alluding to that but “Sir” let’s talk accountability.
I skimmed the article. I think it would be better to try contacting Elon Musk to leave a lasting legacy by putting his weight behind living sustainably on this earth.
He has a far greater impact in social media.I think given Elton’s objectives to inhabit Mars or other planet’s, he should prove to the world we can inhabit this planet without ruining it ,and without leading to the extinction of thousands of indigenous species.The fac is it’s taken less than 200 year’s of industry to practically wreck this planet,or lead to possible irreversible climate change.
What right do we have to inhabit another pristine planet and ruin it.
We know this planet is not only rare ,if visiting alien’s came here they might be both amazed by the diversity of life but appalled by our treatment of it,and creating largely life unfriendly urban environments.
Can Elon even recycle garbage he creates on Mars? Is it going to become a plastic dump too?Burning fossil fuels for energy ? I think his legacy to his children and their children should be to help prove we can live sustainably on this planet possibly the only planet in the known universe with life and that makes us and all our animals the alien life in the universe….
We need to prove we can live here before we go destroying other planet’s. …
The truth is mankind ,or humans will never leave earth,except in numbers representing less than 6 billionth per cent of point zero one….of us Or some craz small number of genetically modified a s astronaut’s or androids.
So Elon you can stand up for mankind and be the champion who helps 8 billion to learn to use an alien planet….this one. Or go to Mars and help no one.Pretend you just arrived on this planet,it’s got limited time left due to climate change,oceans full of plastic, overfishing, over use of non renewable energy sources. Show you can tackle just one problem we face then you may be worthy to inhabit a new one.Your as smart as they come,but your not putting that brain to work figuring out how to live on the most amazing planet in the known universe,just on how to leave it.Thats sad.For such a brilliant man.
Help 8 billion or help no one, your choice.
We need the horse to come before the cart.First prove we can live on this planet which is self cleaning and creates its own atmosphere, creates its own food,creates its own magnetic field for protection from solar radiation, is in the Goldilocks zone,has ocean’s and landmass,and amazing biodiversity.,has seasons,has perfect gravity. You can’t find another planet which ticks even 1 of those boxes….other than a ball of dust,that would cook your blood in a second..
I.e Mars…
Earth is a planet ,but not a planet we know how to live on and look after….earn it all of us… living here….earn it.
Tya
Plant based diets are unhealthy. Man and woman evolved on a red meat diet. Plant diets are boring and horrible.
She’s right! Government’s and big companies are wrecking our planet while the general public hides their head in the sand. My view maybe simplistic but it’s true. Stand up David and tell the truth. The planet needs regenerative farming now!! We are killing the soil! Sooner or later we will all be fighting over food and water.
Too many humans.
This woman is one of the massive excess.
We need to thin the herd.
A kind man whose career is devoted to earth awareness can’t dine out without harassment – sad and shocking
Leave him aloneto eat in peace how old is he now
Make an appointment to see him through Norman channels you are too aggressive towards him
Veganism is a massive scam. It isn’t going to save the planet at all, it’s delusional to think so. Burning fossil fuels and plastic waste is the problem. Grass fed beef is carbon neutral actually carbon positive when you consider the soil nourishment it provides. We need to support regenerative farming. I’m horrified the author is bringing her daughter up on a vegan diet. Studies show vegan kids grow 2 inches shorter than non vegan kids. That’s like child abuse. They’ll be so deficient in a range of minerals like zinc, copper, B12 etc. I’m eating a tonne of steak and liver the most nutrient dense foods on the planet and feeling great. I don’t eat much fish due to micro plastics and heavy metals.
I think you should all stick to doing your own bit to spread knowledge instead of harassing and shaming a man that has spent his life bringing awareness of everything nature related to us all.
I’m just here wondering what are you all doing to counter the biggest problem with meat eating which is the industrialisation and mass killings backed up by governments. Or are you all thinking that the consequence of it, that is eating meat, that is the way to solve the problem? Because it isn’t, really. Not only the industry is wrong, but also the capitalist motto of excessive and greedy consumption. This globalised system is killing the world, not the people who have been consuming meat for millenia.
Maybe next time throw some soup on him or glue yourself to him…this seems to be the preferred way to raise awareness.
Along with quite a few others Attenborough obviously chooses not to practice what he preaches. Not unusual these days.
It seems disingenuous to me to call Smart a marine biologist in the headline, a climate protestor when it talks about her activist work, and a scientist when she “predicts” sea level rise -a topic her particular scientific training doesn’t actually qualify her to speak on. It’s not that any of the facts here are necessarily incorrect, but they’re presented in a manipulative way.
Also, plant based diets aren’t sustainable for the entire human population either since they rely on industrial agriculture and global supply chains to shore up local instabilities. This is especially true as the effects of climate change destabilize global agricultural production.
It also seems like shooting yourself in the face to spite your foot to call out a person who’s arguably done more to raise awareness about the importance of environmental stewardship than 99% of activists.
Glad that I didn’t donate to Flora and Fauna. It’s possible that Sir David is using the funds to be a hypocrite. I know this is harsh, but he should have in the very least give this activist “5 minutes”. Also, the fact that as a scientist and biologist she could have spoken to hIm intellectually. It seems that he didn’t want to be bothered. VERY SAD INDEED.
When did activists start thinking being rude and interrupting someone’s personal space was ok..
If we invaded their privacy shouting save the plants, hunt for your meat, the sap of all the bleeding vegetables are on your hands, I’m sure they would get upset and annoyed.
Everyone has a right to their own beliefs and civility and respect should be given to everybody.
Industrial pollution started in the UK with the industrial revolution, we call understand the benefits and the negative effects which continue, industrial fishing is a continuation of this.
David Attenborough has done more to raise awareness of these and other issues than any current activist vandalising societies great works of art.
I would like to see david attenborough foot print with all the years of flying around the would now he’s telling others to worry about climate change, well sorry not on my watch
Hypocrite