A RADICAL animals rights charity has asked a council for permission to place a plaque in memory of cows on newly a discovered 19th-century slaughterhouse site.

PETA has written to Edinburgh City Council for approval of a commemorative plaque in memory of cows who suffered at the site near Edinburgh castle.

The charity says the plaque would read: "In Memory of all the Cows Who Suffered and Died in an Abattoir on This Very Spot: Try Vegan." In a letter to council leader Adam McVey, PETA points out that the memorial would be especially fitting for Edinburgh.

It highlights the city has been recognised as the UK’s Most Vegan-Friendly City because of its numerous vegan-friendly restaurants.

PETA Director Elisa Allen said: "PETA's plaque would memorialise the animals who died years ago at the site on King's Stables Road and remind passers-by that killing animals for their flesh is a practice that belongs firmly in the past.

"Edinburgh's restaurants offer everything from vegan haggis to veggie burgers, so there's no better place in Scotland to give vegan eating a try." PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”