With just days to go before Remembrance Day, a purple poppy has surfaced in Edmonton, and it’s raising some eyebrows. The purple poppy is designed to recognize animals who served and lost their lives in war.
Kevin Stewart brought 30 of the poppies to Earth’s General Store on Whyte Avenue. The store is out of the poppies already.
The purple poppy originated in England, where they are supported by the British Legion. Many battle sites throughout Europe even display the poppies, but some Canadian veterans are having a harder time getting on board.
"My thought when I heard about it yesterday was that it’s another group jumping on the Remembrance Day Poppy." Mac Torrie, President of the Kingsway Legion said. While Torrie agrees that the sacrifices of animals should be recognized, he thinks they should all be recognized together.
"Put a red poppy in their vest or carry a red poppy in memory of livestock and animals we’ve lost."
But Stewart says the most important thing is to remember, regardless of how you do it.
"We should be spending this week remembering what war is about, and the whole range of the horrors of war."
Several years ago a white poppy, which was supposed to symbolize peace, was sold in the region. The white poppies caused an uproar, and the threat of legal action. Stewart says he doesn’t expect that kind of reaction over his purple poppies.
"My Dad, who’s in the legion hasn’t reacted that negatively, and he was with the Legion VP of Communications during the white poppy controversy."
Stewart plans to order more of the poppies next Remembrance Day.
Purple is the unofficial colour of the animal rights movement.
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