All of us have heard of vegans and some of us may know one or two. The main motivation behind their diet is their concern for animal welfare so does that make any non-vegan animal lover a phony?

“I love animals and I believe it’s wrong to eat them. I can’t see how people who ‘love animals’ are still content to eat these wonderful, intelligent creatures. ” says Anonymous.

As the vegan diet is void of meat, fish or any animal by products, many of them have to rely on a diet made up of primarily fruits and vegetables. This dedication goes to show how much vegans believe in the welfare of animals. Farmers may rear cattle in inhumane conditions, which makes vegans find consuming meats or by-products of animals unthinkable.

A vegan lifestyle also includes the avoidance of products tested on animals. Usually these cosmetics or toiletries are readily available in drugstores (such as Boots). The animal may have product squeezed into their eye and then die a painful death in reaction to the chemicals in it. MAC, Revlon, Garnier and many more companies carry out testing not unlike this.

As a vegan diet clearly reflects their beliefs about animal welfare, can someone be an animal lover without adopting their lifestyle?

One could argue that you can as an animal lover could just as easily avoid buying products tested on animals. This only requires people to be more conscious of which products they are buying whenever they take their next trip to the drugstore. An animal lover could still eat meat but from cruelty-free sources such as free range farms.  Moreover, they can take part in charity events and volunteer at cat shelters.

It is up to people to decide for themselves what qualifies as someone who is passionate about animals and whether they should be recognised as a true ‘animal person’ of not.