‘Doctor Who’: PETA urges Chibnall to make next Time Lady vegan

Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor in 'Doctor Who' BBC

“Doctor Who” will not only see its first ever female Doctor in the upcoming 11^th season, it may also feature one that is a vegan, if animal rights activists People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals got its way. PETA is urging incoming showrunner Chris Chibnall to make the Thirteenth Doctor (to be played by Jodie Whittaker) as a vegan.

The organisation, known for its aggressive advertisements, is imploring Chibnall to make Whittaker’s character shun meat food. According to the open letter it published Tuesday, the titular alien Time Lord, who has two hearts, will benefit from the diet and even become a role model for respecting life.

“Eating dead animals simply doesn’t fit with the Doctor’s moral compass since, as Christopher Eccleston so aptly said, the show has the ‘central message of love for life in all its forms,’” the open letter reads. It goes on to enumerate the advantages of switching to a strictly plant-based diet, saying that considering all the benefits of going vegan has for a person’s heart, it would be doubly beneficial for the Doctor.

“Vegan foods really have come a long way since the nut cutlets of the Sixth Doctor’s time – there are tasty options readily available to suit every appetite (even if that’s for faux-fish fingers dunked in soya custard). We hope the new Doctor will join us in taking a stand for animals and inspire others to switch to a healthy Earth-friendly, life-saving diet.”

PETA was referring to the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) becoming a vegetarian in the 1985 episode “The Two Doctors” after an encounter with an alien that butchered humans. However, by the time the show was revived in 2005, the succeeding incarnations of the Doctor have all been seen eating meat. The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) even famously ate fish custard (hence PETA’s reference in its letter above) with the young Amy Pond. Chibnall has no response yet to the petition.

This is not the first time PETA has petitioned for a well-known name to change to fit its ideology. In 2009, it asked English music duo Pet Shop Boys to change their name to Rescue Shelter Boys to promote pet adoption. The band refused to do so, although it acknowledged the petition had raised an important issue.

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