Activists from the environmental group Last Generation have glued their hands to the pedestal of a dinosaur skeleton at the Natural History Museum in the Austrian capital (NHM) Vienna as a sign of protest against «the destruction of livelihoods».
Shortly after gluing their hands to the pedestal, police officers have arrived on the scene with solvent to separate the activists from the pedestal and expel them from the museum. Authorities will report further on possible charges of public disorder and possible property damage.
The main demand of the activists is the reduction of the maximum speed on highways to one hundred kilometers per hour as an «immediate measure» to reduce CO2 emissions and thus try to slow down the population’s advance towards a «climate hell». «We are not dinosaurs, we have a choice,» they said.
From the Museum Management, Katrin Vohland has acknowledged understanding «the desperation of young people» in the face of seemingly unstoppable climate change and the political measures of national and international authorities, but has questioned their methods of protest.
For Vohland, «a lot of discourse» is necessary to make the situation understood, and she regretted that this type of «performance» does nothing more than «distract from the real issue», according to the Austrian public broadcaster, ORF.
This incident adds to the growing list of ‘performance’ against cultural and historical heritage in various parts of the European continent against climate change. Among the most notable actions was the throwing of soup at several paintings by Vincent van Gogh.
In Spain, two activists of Futuro Vegetal glued their hands on Saturday to the paintings of ‘La maja desnuda’ and ‘La maja vestida’ by Francisco de Goya exhibited at the Prado National Museum in Madrid, as a sign of protest against the climate emergency.
