Britsh activists Yvonne Taylor (l), 35, and Lucy Groom, 27, from Peta, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Photograph: Vladimir Zaikin/AP
British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen lampooned their country in his movie Borat and now Kazakhs have been confronted by British animal rights campaigners in lettuce bikinis.
The two activists from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) shivered in the cold yesterday in the main square of Almaty, Kazakhstan's commercial hub. For 30 minutes, they called on Kazakhs to stop eating horse meat and to go vegetarian. The stunt drew a mixed response from the locals with some saying it was fun; others were offended.
The campaign group has a link to the film Borat in so far as Cohen's character - a rowdy Kazakh journalist - falls in love with former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, who is one of Peta's celebrity campaigners.
Yvonne Taylor, one of the activists wearing lettuce and carrying a sign saying "let vegetarianism grow on you", said: "The Borat film is ridiculing Kazakhstan, but we come with a positive message: how to live a healthier, longer life."
Peta said it wanted people to switch from dishes like beshbarmak (horse meat and noodles) and zhambas (baked sheep's head) to veggie alternatives.
But in the square, not everybody was convinced, the Associated Press reported. "This is a disgrace," said Orazbek Ziyakhanov, 74, when asked about the activists' outfits. "Don't we have enough of our own spoiled girls? This is not Europe, this is Asia ... How can we stop eating meat? All the vitamins are in meat."
