UK: Petition filed to scrap new £5 notes as they contain animal fat
It has gained almost 70,000 signatures and will be delivered to the Bank of England.

A petition has been launched in the United Kingdom calling to scrap the new £5 notes because they contain animal fat. The petition has gained almost 70,000 signatures and will be delivered to the Bank of England, reported The Guardian.
Protesters have claimed that the £5 notes should be stopped as they contain tallow, a substance made from animal (beef, mutton or pork) fat. The petition reads: “The new £5 notes contain animal fat in the form of tallow. This is unacceptable to millions of vegans, vegetarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others in the UK. We demand that you cease to use animal products in the production of currency that we have to use.”
In a reply to a tweet, the Bank of England confirmed that the £5 notes have trace amounts of tallow on them.
@SteffiRox there is a trace of tallow in the polymer pellets used in the base substrate of the polymer £5 notes
— Bank of England (@bankofengland) November 28, 2016
Some British Hindu leaders said that they will discuss a possible ban on the new notes from temples, reported BBC. The new notes are made of plastic and are much harder to tear compared with paper money.
Meet #TheNewFiver; Cleaner, Safer, Stronger. Arriving 13 September. https://t.co/m1enSwI3xk pic.twitter.com/tFJSA2F73X
— Bank of England (@bankofengland) September 8, 2016
Bank of England: Remove Tallow from bank notes https://t.co/jsbt1Y3VT0 pic.twitter.com/X9OQwu6i6L
— Wallflower Kitchen (@wallfloweraimee) November 29, 2016