Russian artist/activist Petr Davydtchenko ate a live bat outside of European Parliament on Wednesday. He was protesting what he feels is an unequal distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. Davydtchenko had hyped up the event but ate the creature before the announced time so police wouldn't be there stop him. He returned later to issue a statement.
"The police were waiting for my arrival," Davydtchenko said. "They identified me by my corporate branding, the Pfizer tattoo on my forehead, a signature that has come to represent false hope for millions of poor people around the world."
From The Brussells Times:
Davydtchenko says he was stripped and searched for the bat that he had already eaten.
"We took him to the police station, we did a control check and there was no animal, so there was no action," a spokesperson for the Brussels police told The Brussels Times.
The Parliament press service said Wednesday that "the Parliament is in no way associated to this distasteful and cruel event," but Davydtchenko defended his protest.
"To those deeply hurt and offended by my action, I suggest you aim your hatred and anger at a bigger threat," he said.
"The EU takes millions in lobbying money from pharmaceutical companies every year – the companies that make government-funded drugs unaffordable to national health services, the companies that spend more on marketing than they do on research, the companies that will only cure your sickness if you are rich enough."
Ozzy Osbourne had no comment on the matter.
