• Direct Action Everywhere, a group of animal rights activists, staged a peaceful but disruptive demonstration inside Montreal restaurant Joe Beef.
• A video of the demonstration has garnered over 10,000 views.
• Visit MTLBlog for more headlines.

A group of animal rights activists stormed the Montreal restaurant Joe Beef this weekend holding signs and chanting about the violence associated with eating meat. The group of animal rights activists, called Direct Action Everywhere Montreal, were also responsible for the protest that occurred in a Montreal Costco this past September. More than ten activists participated in this peaceful but disruptive protest on Saturday, January 11, 2020, around dinnertime.

The activists were holding signs with messages like "We want animal liberation now," "Animals are not ours," and, "Animals are not objects."

The video below shows the small protest procession enter the restaurant and stand, with their signs up, around the customers eating or waiting to be served their meals inside the restaurant. 

After several minutes inside the restaurant, staff members begin to firmly but respectfully usher the group back outside the restaurant where the group remained with their signs held high against the window of the restaurant continuing their chants.

After about ten minutes, the group disperses after having a short back-and-forth with a staff member who seems to imply he'd be open to a chat with the group... if they'd come back during the afternoon instead of during dinner.

The video below was shared to the Direct Action Everywhere Montreal official Facebook page and has now garnered over 13,000 views.

In the video you can hear one of the organizers leading the chants, saying, "Their bodies, not ours! Their lives, not ours!"

"It's not food, it's violence!"

"Animals feel pain, just like us! Animals feel joy, just like us! Animals feel sadness, just like us!"

READ ALSO: Video Shows Animal Rights Activists Storm Montreal Costco Meat Section

Reactions to the video have been largely positive, with a lot of people congratulating and thanking the activists for their work.

Though, of course, many others are unimpressed with this kind of direct action. One commenter says, "I'm incredibly sceptical that this kind of activism convinces anyone to go vegan."

We reached out to one of the participating activists, Jade Boss, spokesperson for Direct Action, for a comment on the experience and her thoughts on how the protest unfolded.

"We are very satisfied with the result," she said.

"There are more than 2000 comments on the TVA Nouvelles article," which was published on Sunday.

"So it must have been a topic well discussed at the family dinner last night. That was our goal."

"The staff reacted well. The disruption went really well, as you can see in the video."

This is not the first time that Direct Action Everywhere Montreal has staged a disruption in the city.

When the group stormed a Montreal Costco location, they shared similar messages with shoppers in the meat section of the store.

Jade Boss also confirmed they "have other actions planned, but we cannot divulge where these actions will be held."

We reached out to Joe Beef for a comment, as well, and will update this space if and when they respond.