Revealed: PETA animal rights protester who disrupted Crufts is 39-year-old ... trends now
A Peta animal rights protesters who disrupted Crufts at the weekend is a 39-year-old vegetarian activist who calls her pets 'companions', MailOnline can reveal today.
Julie Hayes managed to smuggle in a huge banner under her clothing and had been at the show in Birmingham for four hours before she sat in the stands and unfurled the 'boycott breeders' poster.
She clung on to the railings with a fellow activist shouting 'boycott breeders' and 'adopt don't shop' before ugly scenes saw a security team sprint and scale up the railings to get to the pair.
Ms Hayes claims she was surrounded by about eight to ten security staff who manhandled her.
She accused one of 'kicking my feet away' which caused her to fall to the floor and injure her elbow and feared she was going to be dragged down the stairs.
But the former beer brewer told MailOnline today the 'few bumps and bruises' she suffered is nothing in comparison to 'the agony' some dogs go through 'of having your brain grow too big for your skull or not being able to breathe'.
Peta animal rights protester Julie Hayes, 39, who disrupted Crufts at the weekend is a vegetarian activist who calls her pets 'companions'
She managed to smuggle in a huge banner under her clothing and had been at the show in Birmingham for four hours before she sat in the stands and unfurled the poster
Ms Hayes vowed to continue to speak up for pooches as 'anyone who has ever known a dog knows their individuals with their own thoughts, feelings, and personalities'.
The Peta editor had purchased a ticket online for the annual show in advance having volunteered to take part in the protest.
She made the two-and-a-half hour car journey by herself from her home in Kingston upon Hull to the NEC where she met up with her fellow activists.
Having smuggled the banner past security checks at the door they toured the halls and watched parts of the show for four hours before launching the protest as the best in show was announced.
Shocking footage showed the violent brawl moved into the seating area as a man tried to force Ms Hayes to let go of a barrier as she resisted being moved, with shouts of 'get out' and jeers heard in the background from the crowd.
She labelled the 'intimidating' security response 'extreme' and told MailOnline: 'We were peaceful. We just had a banner, and they came in with violence.
'And so, yeah, it goes to show how desperate Crufts is to hide the pain and suffering caused by the breeding industry.
'But I can't compare a few bumps and bruises, really, to the agony of having your brain grow too big for your skull or not being able to breathe. You know all these defects that dogs are bred to have? So yeah, so it wouldn't put me off. I continue to speak out for dogs.'
Ms Hayes with a fellow activist at Crufts before security team raced to halt the protest and eject them out of the
