Apart from the issue of racial discrimination, the issue of animal rights is also dear to Lewis Hamilton. Displaying his commitment to the cause, he switched to a plant-based diet sometime around 5 years ago. Contrary to the common belief, he hailed the results from the diet and told he felt better than he did 10 years ago. Animal rights organization PETA felicitated him for spreading awareness by naming him their PETA U.K.’s Person of the Year. However, their latest way of wishing Lewis on his birthday hasn’t gone well with the fans.

Lewis did not stop at switching to a vegan diet himself. He even started feeding his dog Roscoe the diet and once told how he benefited from it. Moreover, he backed the first international vegan burger chain called Neat Burger, which serves dairy-free milkshakes as well.

PETA urges Lewis Hamilton to campaign against Liberty Media

Keeping all this in mind, PETA believed they could urge Lewis to persuade Liberty Media to stop the Iditarod race. Iditarod is a 1000-mile extreme weather dog race that takes place in Alaska. In the race, dogs drag sleds in the snow, and as per PETA, many die during the race. The next race will take place on March 4, 2023.

In a letter, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk urged Lewis to be a part of their campaign: “We know you do care about dogs, so please don’t continue to stand idly by as animals continue to suffer or your silence will be taken as complicity. A word from you could save dogs every bit as precious as your Roscoe.” 

As Lewis had his birthday recently on the 7th of January, they reiterated the point while wishing him on Twitter. They wrote, “One word from vegan F1 champion Sir @LewisHamilton could stop #Formula1 owner, Liberty Media, from funding the deadly #Iditarod dog race. We sent him a megaphone for his birthday to inspire him to speak up for the “underdogs” forced to pull sleds in the freezing snow!”

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It wasn’t just Hamilton fans who didn’t take well to the post, but F1 fans, including Max Verstappen’s, united against the organization.

Hamilton and Verstappen fans unite against PETA

The F1 fans did not take well to PETA targeting Lewis to forward their agenda. The F1 community on all social media platforms, including Twitter, is polarized on various issues. This time, however, they stood together.

Have a look at some reactions to the post.

One fan found PETA’s constant attempts at getting Lewis involved as annoying.

One user pointed to the fact that PETA’s post united all different F1 fanbases.

Even fans from the rival camp came to the rescue of the 7-time world champion and slammed PETA.

Even former F1 engineer and The Engine Braking Podcast host Dan couldn’t help but post a hilarious David Mitchell meme in the comments.

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What do you think of PETA’s birthday wish for Lewis? Was it appropriate to target him like that?