A vegan student studying animal management has won a battle with her college over the right to skip a farming module that would have have involved a trip to an abattoir – forcing tutors to find her a ‘more suitable’ assessment.
Fiji Willets, 18, didn’t expect the topic of farming to come up when she signed up for the BTEC National Extended Diploma in Animal Management at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College.
She joined after reading it was ‘great for people who love animals’ – but was shocked to discover animal management course could see her work on a farm and possibly visit an abattoir.
The teenager complained to tutors, who told her the unit was mandatory, so she enlisted the help of ‘vegan rights advocates’ to overturn their decision.
After numerous complaints, she’s finally been told she can do a ‘more suitable’ module instead, while other students continue with the original course.
Animal lover Fiji Willetts, 18, didn’t think a college course on animal management would have a module on farming. After making numerous complaints, the vegan has been told she doesn’t need to take part in the unit
Other teenagers on the course are expected to work on a farm and could potentially visit an abattoir, but after complaining with the help of ‘vegan rights advocates’, Miss Willetts will not have to
Fiji, from Downend, Bristol, said: ‘I am vegan because I love animals, so to attend a farm where I would be supporting a farmer would be wrong.
‘I would have been denied a college education.
‘I couldn’t simply break my way of living purely to pass a course.
‘I hope I can now be an example to other vegans so they don’t have to go through the ordeal I went through.’
But after enrolling, she discovered she had to take and pass, a module on farm husbandry – the branch of agriculture which focuses on raising animals for products.
South Gloucester and Stroud College tutors initially told Miss Willetts that she would have to take the farming unit or it would result in an ‘automatic fail’
Students were expected to attend working farms and a slaughterhouse visit was also discussed, according to the Vegan Society, which supported Fiji’s claim.
Fiji started suffering with anxiety and raised concerns with her tutor, but was told she had to complete the module or fail, the society claims.
She submitted a formal complaint to the college, which maintained a substitute module was not available, it is claimed.
A similar complaint was issued to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), who supported the college.
But the case was escalated to the awarding body for non-compliance with equality law, and college tutors finally changed their minds.
Five months after the start of Fiji’s claim, they have agreed to provide ‘a more suitable module’ for her to complete at the college in Filton, Bristol.
Complaints were initially dismissed, until Miss Willetts, helped by The Vegan Society, escalated her claim. Supporters say it is ‘a big win for the vegan movement’
Five months after the start of Fiji’s claim, they have agreed to provide ‘a more suitable module’ for her to complete at the college in Filton, Bristol
Jeanette Rowley, vegan rights advocate at The Vegan Society, said: ‘I’m delighted Fiji was able to stay at her college and continue working towards her diploma.
‘This was a really big win for Fiji, and for the vegan movement.
‘Education providers have a duty to be inclusive and must do everything they can to remove any disadvantages faced by vegans.
‘There is an urgent need to assess the approach taken to teaching students about nonhuman animals and the way they are treated.
‘Vegans in the UK have the protection of human rights and equality law, and it is vital that schools and colleges understand that they are under a statutory duty to examine how their educational policies and practices might have a negative impact on vegan students.’
MailOnline has approached South Gloucestershire and Stroud College for a comment.
