The stunt in a Vienna museum was meant to convince the authorities to introduce a speed limit of 100 km/h on highways
Two climate activists glued themselves to a dinosaur stand at the Museum of Natural History in the Austrian capital on Thursday to protest against the government’s fossil fuel policies. While the skeleton itself did not sustain any damage, the stunt was soon interrupted by the police.
The women, who are a part of Letzte Generation (The Last Generation) climate movement, organized the action “in front of the remains of the extinct giants” to urge the nation’s government to “stop humanity’s extinction.” To achieve this end, they proposed imposing a speed limit of 100 km/h on motorways as an “immediate measure” to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
One of the activists, 24 year-old Jelena Saf, insisted that the world is rapidly descending into “climate hell.” She described the speed limit as a first simple measure to stop this that will cost nothing. “We are not dinosaurs. We have a choice,” the activist said.
The protesters also highlighted that “as always, we are trying not to damage anything valuable,” adding that this is why they decided to glue their hands to the stand, and not to the skeleton itself.
Local law enforcement officers used solvent to unglue the activists from the pedestal. The police also said they would file complaints for disturbing the public order, adding that the activists are suspected of having damaged the museum’s property.
The speed limit on motorways in Austria is currently 130 km/h.
The incident is the latest in a string of protests targeting museum showpieces in Europe and beyond. Most recently, activists from a campaign group called Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies vandalized Andy Warhol’s famous ‘Campbell’s Soup I’ at Australia’s National Gallery in Canberra in order to urge the authorities to “immediately stop all subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.”
