Brian May, Queen’s guitarist, discussed his commitment to veganism and animal welfare in an interview on Good Food Podcast.
May has long been known as a defender of wildlife. He explained his approach to protecting animals at different levels, from direct rescue work to government lobbying.
“I’m definitely committed to trying to decrease the suffering of animals, ’cause I think every animal matters — not just species, not just numbers, but every single creature matters,” May said. “And you probably know we have a wildlife rescue. We just rescued a couple of toads from the drains who couldn’t get out, and that gives me great pleasure.”
He highlighted the work of Anne Brummer, who runs his Save Me wildlife rescue. “Anne Brummer, who runs my Save Me wildlife rescue, has rescued literally thousands of animals over the years we’ve been involved together, and that makes me very happy,” he continued. “And whatever you can do. And that’s wild animals — it’s foxes and badgers, deer, many, many kinds of birds, hedgehogs. And we do that.”
May described the range of efforts behind the rescue work. “We do intermediate level outreach to people, trying to educate people about wild animals and what they need and how we’re destroying their habitats, et cetera. And we do top-level lobbying with [the U.K.] government and the Houses of Parliament just to try and change the laws that potentially can protect wild animals from exploitation and abuse.”
He then reflected on humanity’s place in the natural world. “David Attenborough [English broadcaster, naturalist and writer] was quoted quite recently as saying, ‘Why is it we have the arrogance to think that the human race, that humans are the only significant animal on the planet? Why do we think we’re more important than all the other animals?’ There’s no basis for that.”
May questioned human superiority further. “I mean, I’ve said very often, if an alien came to Earth and looked at all the different animals, creatures on Earth, they wouldn’t necessarily come to the conclusion that humans were the best and the most worthy of preserving. We’ve done a lot of damage, and we still do a lot of damage, and I’m not convinced that we do a very good job as a species. So why do we assume all the other species are there for our exploitation? It’s not a logical assumption. To me, it’s self-evident that every animal matters.”
May shared these views as part of his broader advocacy for veganism and animal protection. His comments add to years of public support for wildlife conservation and ethical treatment of all creatures.
May’s path to veganism came later in his animal rights career. He did not go vegan until January 2020, when he took part in Veganuary as an experiment, despite having campaigned for animals for many years. Since the coronavirus pandemic, he has advocated for veganism as a way for humans to exist in harmony with the planet and its ecosystems.
Save Me was founded in 2010 by May and Anne Brummer to campaign against the possible repeal of the Hunting Act in the United Kingdom. The campaign takes its name from a song written by May that became a worldwide hit for Queen in 1980. Brummer has been rescuing wildlife for over 30 years and runs both the Save Me Trust and Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue, an emergency wildlife hospital that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
In 2013, May bought 157 acres of former farmland in Dorset, England, intending to transform it into a safe haven for wildlife. May’s Wood is now home to more than 101,000 trees and shrubs, and many new species of insects, birds, and mammals inhabit the land.
Over the past three decades, May has become deeply involved in the animal rights movement, particularly campaigning to protect badgers against culling. May has stated that the animal welfare community is disappointed by the Labour Government’s stance on badger culling, noting that the party entered power with a manifesto promising to stop the practice.
