Several McDonald’s restaurants in the U.K. have been filled with dozens of live mice, released by pro-Palestinian activists who have accused the fast-food giant of supporting Israel.
The latest incident featured a group of masked men entering a McDonald’s in Birmingham, England shouting “Free Palestine” and throwing a box of mice on the floor near the counter, videos shared to social media show.
Videos by VICE
This was the third incident of mice being released at McDonald’s locations in the U.K. recently.
Another video shows dozens of mice spray-painted in red, green, and white—the colours of the Palestinian flag—thrown into the crowded entrance of a restaurant at another Birmingham location.
“That’s a lot of rats,” a young customer can be heard saying in the video.
“Oh my days. Look at this! They’ve just dropped this off at McDonald’s. All these rats,” another says.
“Targeted boycott. The Big Three. Start by boycotting these brands that are directly involved in supporting Israeli apartheid,” says the latest video caption in reference to McDonald’s, Starbucks, and KFC’s alleged support of Israel. The original poster of the video appears to have been removed from TikTok.
Another video from a separate user also shows a group of hooded and masked men smashing the windows of a Starbucks location in the U.K.
The controversy comes after a McDonald’s franchise in Israel seemingly posted an endorsement of the Israel Defense Forces on Instagram, saying they would donate free food to “all those who are involved in the defense of the state, hospitals, and surrounding areas.”
This set off a round of counter-statements from other independent franchises across the Middle East and beyond, as well as a strong worded statement from the McDonald’s Corporation.
McDonald’s is “dismayed by the disinformation and inaccurate reports regarding our position in response to the conflict in the Middle East,” the company said.
“McDonald’s Corporation is not funding or supporting any governments involved in this conflict, and any actions from our local developmental licensee business partners were made independently without McDonald’s consent or approval.
McDonald’s chains across the Middle East and Southeast Asia posted their own statements, saying that they were independent of the franchise in Israel. In Lebanon, local news outlets posted photographs of the Lebanese military stationed outside their McDonald’s locations encouraging residents not to attack them as they had no affiliation with Israeli franchises.
In Malaysia, McDonald’s franchises made a statement saying “it is crucial to clarify that the actions being referred to are those of an independent market and do not reflect the values or practices of McDonald’s Malaysia.” They added that they would be raising money for humanitarian aid for Palestinians.
McDonald’s condemned the actions of the protesters, and say that their impacted stores have been sanitised and inspected by pest control, with service restored.
Local police called the rodent release a “public nuisance offense” and say they are investigating the incidents.
