The owner of a tequila bar has applied for his business to become a religion - in a bid to keep it open during lockdown.
Bar owner James Aspell of the 400 Rabbits Tequila and Mezcal Cocktail Bar in Nottingham has registered it to become ‘The Church of The Four Hundred Rabbits’.
He made the decision after describing the situation involving bars as "ridiculous", reports Nottingham Live.
The city is currently under Tier 3, with rules in England stating that places of worship can stay open, but you must not attend with or socialise with anyone outside of your household or support bubble while you are there.
James, of Nottingham, said that to apply to become a religion you need people signed up to your congregation.
Members of the new religion can choose to be ‘a bunny believer’ or ‘a reverend of the righteous rabbits’, with James still working on “how to practice the religion”.
The 34-year-old business owner said: “The intention of this is to be a joke but it comes from a serious place.
“With the new restrictions we’re forced to close and it could be months before we can reopen. We don’t have a food offering so even if we were in Tier 2, we couldn’t open.
“We feel like we’ve been targeted unfairly, to an extent and it seems wrong.
"Everything from gyms to massage parlours can stay open and even the Christmas markets are happening – that was the point when I thought, this is ridiculous.
“So we have sent in an application to register as a place of worship.”
James, who opened the bar five years ago, said the application has been sent to the registrar general in Nottingham for consideration.
From next week, The Church of Four Hundred Rabbits will be signing people up to its congregation through a new website.
Despite the jovial nature of the application, he said it “points out the hypocrisy” of the coronavirus measures.
He added: “This time of year it’s usually all guns blazing but instead I’m sat at home putting my Christmas decorations up.
“We have no intention of opening unless the application is granted or when restrictions are lifted.
“If we were to open we’d follow government guidelines and I don’t think we’d be selling alcohol. We might be able to adapt in a different way and have some fun with it.
“We’re not doing this to offend anybody or break any rules.”
In a post on Facebook, 400 Rabbits said: "With places of worship allowed to open in all tiers we thought let's start a religion! Can't be that hard can it? 'The Church of the 400 Rabbits' launching as soon as we get the green light!
"Congregation daily til late. Give us this day our daily #mezcal."
James said the response has been “overwhelmingly positive”, with one person branding the idea as "genius"
Another person commented: "The only religion I would get on board with. Hopes and prayers for your salvation and delicious drinks."
One woman added: "I will take a tequila baptism any day!"
