Protesters have expressed their surprise after police were called to a Dundee shopping centre following an Extinction Rebellion stunt that saw “a few middle-aged ladies dressed as butterflies” lie on the ground.
Extinction Rebellion were involved in a demonstration on Saturday as part of their protests against the “insect apocalypse”.
This involved “skipping about and dying dramatically” while in colourful butterfly costumes.
But according to a protestor: “Three coppers turned up because a few middle-aged ladies dressed as butterflies and lay down”.
She claimed that Wellgate security called the police on the peaceful protest.
We have contacted the Wellgate management team for further comment.
‘No insects, no food, no future’
Mandy Cairns was one of the protestors involved in Saturday’s demonstration.
Mandy is a member of Extinction Rebellion Stirling.
The protest was originally planned to take place outside but it moved inside the Wellgate Centre due to bad weather.
“The police asked us to leave, but they said we weren’t doing anything wrong,” she said.
“It was a nice friendly action and we weren’t bothering anybody.”
The aim of the protest was to raise awareness of dwindling insect populations.
“I don’t think anybody realises the importance of what insects do and how much we need them,” Mandy said.
The demonstration went on for an hour before the group were asked to leave.
“We moved because it was easier to just keep the peace,” she added.
This demonstration occurred alongside Extinction Rebellion’s latest science talk.
There will be a series of these climate talks taking place at Dundee’s Wellgate Centre.
The talk on Saturday focused on farming, biodiversity and food production.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Shortly before 1pm on Saturday, 26 November, 2022, we were called to a report of a protest at Wellgate Shopping Centre, Dundee.
“The event passed without incident.
“Police Scotland monitors all aspects of proposed protest activity and any events will be policed appropriately.”
Latest in line of attention grabbing Dundee protests
Extinction Rebellion have caught the public eye with a number of high profile stunts in the city in recent years.
Seven Extinction Rebellion activists were convicted in 2021 of occupying an oil rig at the Port of Dundee.
Three of the protestors used ropes and climbing equipment to scale the 300ft platform of the Valaris rig during high winds in January 2020.
While the group signalled their intent before the COP26 conference in Glasgow in 2021.
A member of the group planted their logo in clover into the lawn at Dundee’s Slessor Gardens.
The hourglass motif only became fully visible from the big wheel.
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