More mice released in McDonald's: Second restaurant targeted after Palestine activist slams chain's 'Israel support'

31 October 2023, 21:28 | Updated: 1 November 2023, 12:28

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

A second McDonald's restaurant in Birmingham has been hit with a rodent infestation, just one day after dozens of mice were let loose in a restaurant over the chain's 'support for Israel'.

New footage posted on Tuesday shows a struggling McDonald's worker trying to trap dozens of mice underneath a plastic box at a branch in Perry Bar, Birmingham.

It comes after a video posted last night showed a man with a 'Free Palestine' number plate pulling up outside of a McDonald's in Star City, also in Birmingham, carrying boxes filled with mice.

It is unclear if the two incidents are linked.

In yesterday's video, the man also appears to be wearing a Palestine flag on his head as he walks into the McDonald's.

The man then shows a group of young teenagers the rodents, before throwing them onto the floor.

“We are aware of a second incident in one of our Birmingham restaurants. Following the latest occurrence earlier today, the restaurant has been fully sanitised and our pest control partners have carried out a full inspection," a spokesperson for McDonald's told LBC.

"We are working with West Midlands police on both incidents.”

The mice are thrown towards two women standing at a self-order kiosk.

A man at the end can be heard shouting 'Free f**king Palestine' and 'F**k Israel'.

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They then start to scurry around the restaurant as customers look on in horror.

West Midlands police said they were investigating yesterday's footage as a 'public nuisance offence'.

"We understand the distress this will have caused and it's not acceptable in any circumstances…we've active lines on enquiries to identify, and then arrest, who was involved," a spokesperson said.

Warning: footage below contains strong language

Rats let loose in Birmingham McDonald's

In a statement issued on Wednesday, McDonald's said: “We are extremely disturbed by the disinformation and inaccurate reports regarding our position in response to the conflict in the Middle East. McDonald’s Corporation is not funding or supporting any governments involved in this conflict, and any actions from our local Developmental Licensee business partners were made independently without McDonald’s consent or approval.

“Our hearts are with all of the communities and families impacted by this crisis. We abhor violence of any kind and firmly stand against hate speech, and we will always proudly open our doors to everyone. 

“We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our people in the region while supporting the communities where we operate."