Some anti-vaxxers plan to fake being vegan after finding a loophole that means vaccines are not mandatory for them

• Ethical veganism is a protected characteristic in the UK.
• Employers only hiring vaccinated individuals can't reject people who haven't got the jab on the grounds of veganism.
• The UK Government has denied that it plans to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory.

Some anti-vaxxers are faking being vegan after finding a loophole that means vaccines are not mandatory for them.

Lawyers in the UK have stated that, as ethical veganism is a protected characteristic, workplaces that make vaccinations mandatory cannot apply these rules to vegans - as the vaccines were tested on animals.

As a result, anti-vaxxers are stating on their social media that they will claim to be vegans to avoid tightening restrictions on what unvaccinated people can do.

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A spokesman for Lewis Silkin, a law firm, told The Telegraph: "Some ethical vegans may disagree with vaccinations on the basis that they will inevitably have been tested on animals. Ethical veganism has previously been found by an [employment tribunal] to amount to a belief, capable of being protected."

Whilst the UK has not made vaccinations mandatory, a number of employers are only allowing vaccinated employees into the office.

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said that the so-called "jabs for jobs" adopted by several major US companies, including Google and Facebook - was "smart policy."

But the British government has denied that vaccinations will ever be mandatory, saying it should be left to individual companies. However, it has pushed for vaccine passports to be required for entry into large-scale events.

Yet, fears of the possibility of mandatory vaccinations continue to trigger anti-vaxx supporters. As a result, some people are working to find loopholes against getting it, should they ever become mandatory.

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Jeanette Rowley, a rights advocate at the Vegan Society, has received queries from genuine vegans who do not want to take the vaccine but are fearful for their employment opportunities, The Telegraph report.

However, she added that many vegans have opted to take the vaccines after thinking about their "wider responsibility to people."

The UK has had a high rate of take-up for the vaccine, with over 80% of the country have at least one dose of the COVID-19 jab.