PETA Wants UK’s New Ski Centre to Go Vegan

In the Welsh valleys of Merthyr Tydfil, where industry once shaped the landscape, it is predicted the introduction of the UK’s largest indoor real snow centre will bring investment, generate employment opportunities, and provide a striking new tourist attraction and recreational facility.

Plans for Rhydycar West, a new ski and snowboard centre, recently reached a major milestone. Outline planning permission was granted by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council on 7 January 2026. The planning application was first submitted in March 2023.

Once built, the development is intended to be more than just a ski slope. The centre will house the UK’s longest real snow facility with a slope around 400m long that could serve as a national training hub for Welsh and GB Snowsport teams.

There will also be a range of family and leisure attractions, including a large tropical indoor waterpark, indoor and outdoor adventure centres with activities like climbing and high ropes, extensive hotels with up to 418 rooms, woodland lodge accommodation, and supporting facilities such as conferencing and spa areas.

Traditional winter ski holiday tourism has, claim environmental campaigners, been visibly affected by climate change. And now an animal action group has asked the developers of the new Welsh snow centre what kind of future will the ski and snowboard slope support?

In a formal letter to CEO Ali Tyebkhan, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is urging the company to provide fully vegan menus in the snow centre. The organisation argues that serving meat and dairy in a climate-controlled snow complex risks undermining the broader environmental message such a development could send. In its view, ‘having meat on the menu is like burning coal’ – the power and heating resource many claim has contributed to a climate crisis.

The appeal is not symbolic alone. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation has advised ‘plant-forward catering’, and the United Nations is encouraging dietary shifts toward plant-based eating to offset the effects of the climate crisis.

Food systems account for a substantial share of global greenhouse gas emissions, with animal agriculture playing a leading role. Research indicates that an individual who adopts a vegan diet can reduce their food-related carbon footprint by up to 75% – a significant reduction compared to many other lifestyle changes.

For PETA, their proposal is also local. Wales is home to plant farmers and food producers who could supply a fully vegan menu, aligning economic regeneration with agricultural transition.

The organisation says if the new snow centre, Rhydycar West, commits to plant-based catering, it will provide free vegan cheese fondue to skiers and snowboarders on the opening day.

Building an indoor snow centre in a warming world inevitably invites scrutiny. Energy use, supply chains, and environmental impact will all be examined. Choosing a fully vegan menu would not resolve every concern, but it would signal an alignment between leisure and climate awareness – enjoying the mountains and protecting the conditions that make snow possible.

There is also the ethical dimension central to PETA’s mission, whose motto states in part that ‘animals are not ours to eat.’ The organisation points to evidence suggesting that a person who goes vegan may spare nearly 200 animals each year from industrial farming and slaughter.

For Rhydycar West, the decision ultimately sits at the intersection of business strategy, public image, and environmental stewardship. In a century defined increasingly by climate instability, even the contents of a restaurant menu have to be considered.