Several temples in Britain have scrapped the new £5 note after it was found that it contained tallow, a substance that comes from beef, mutton or pork fat, reported The Independent. The new currency “ceases to be a simple medium of exchange but becomes a medium for communicating pain and suffering and we would not want to come into contact with it,” said the National Council of Hindu Temples in a statement.
According to council spokesperson Satish Sharma, at least three temples have stopped accepting the new £5 note. The Bhaktivedanta Manor, a Hare Krishna temple in Hertfordshire posted a photo on Facebook that said, “We no longer accept the new £5 notes as they contain animal fat. Apologies for the inconvenience.”
The Shree Sanatan Temple in Leicester has initiated a campaign to replace the new note but the continue to accept the currency. “We will make our devotees aware of the content of the new £5.00 note and encourage them not to utilise it in our main prayer hall. [But] Being a charity organisation that relies solely on public donations we will reluctantly continue to accept the new £5 on our premises for the time being,” the temple’s website said.
This comes days after a petition was launched in United Kingdom, calling to scrap the new £5 notes because they contain animal fat. The petition had gained almost 12,000 signatures and will be delivered to the Bank of England, reported The Independent. Apart from Hindus, the new currency also hurts the sentiments of vegans, vegetarians, Sikhs, Jains and others communities.
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