An animal rights activist says she wants to have a dialogue with a Toronto restaurant owner who made international headlines after he carved up a deer’s leg in front of protesters last week.

On Saturday evening, animal rights protesters reappeared outside Antler Kitchen and Bar, a game-themed restaurant that serves wild deer, boar and bison, for the sixth time.

“I don’t consider this protest as an attack on him or an attack on his business,” Marni Ugar told the Star on Sunday after Saturday evening’s protest outside the Dundas St. W. restaurant.

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Activists were protesting outside the restaurant last week when the restaurant owner, Michael Hunter, responded by carving and eating deer meat in the front window.

The protest featured a banner that said “Murder” in large, hot pink letters, and a sign that said, “Animals are not ours to use.”

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Protesters say restaurant owner made show of eating meat in response to animal rights demonstration

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One demonstrator, Len Goldberg, had a sign that read “please add vegan steak to the menu.”

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“This story has since become about the deer carving but I still want to have dialogue,” Ugar said.

“This protest is about speciesism. A pig is killed and slaughtered to be eaten but no one says anything. If the restaurant were killing dogs, people would be angered. On dogs we put booties and a jacket and cuddle with it.”

Ugar said she chose to protest Antler last winter after she saw a board outside the restaurant that said “venison is the new kale.”

During a protest by animal rights activists outside Antler Kitchen and Bar on March 23, 2018, witnesses say a man believed to be owner Michael Hunter carved a leg of meat and later ate some at the front window in view of the protesters.

The protest and Hunter’s response attracted a spirited response on Twitter, where many mocked the protesters and congratulated Michael Hunter.

Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt tweeted “Next time I’m in Toronto, I’m dining at Antler.”

Another poster, Big Bad Gorilla, wrote: “They just made Antler the most famous restaurant in Toronto. I eat vegan but I’m switching back to meat after seeing this (protest) video.”

Critics of the protest are wondering why people gathered outside a local Toronto business specifically.

Vegan protesters gather outside of the Antler restaurant in Toronto on March 31, 2018. (Chris Donovan/Canadian Press)

“People are asking me ‘Why not McDonald’s?’ My answer is ‘Who will I sit down with there?’ ” Ugar said.

“I am a grass-roots organizer so my activism focuses on local businesses. No one from McDonald’s is going to meet me.”

In an email to the Star on Sunday, a spokesperson for Antler said the owners have decided to move on after the protests.

“For us, this story has come to an end. We remain committed to serving our loyal and new customers, and we are dedicated to returning to business as usual,” Laura Fracassi wrote.

Hunter wrote in an email to the Star last week that protests are not unusual in the restaurant industry and therefore, he was not surprised by the actions of the protesters.

Vegan protesters gather outside of the Antler restaurant in Toronto on March 31, 2018. (Chris Donovan/Canadian Press)

“Our identity as a restaurant is well known throughout the city as is our ethical farming and foraging initiatives,” he wrote. “We stand by our restaurant's identity and the identity of myself as a chef.”

Ugar said she has communicated with Hunter before the protest and he had invited her to go vegetable picking.

“We were in contact through email and then the press exploded and we haven’t spoken since,” she said. “I’ve received a lot of attacks, in part because the owner is a hunter and a lot of Americans were sending me hate mail because all the pro-gun people are a little threatened. In this situation, I still believe that the animals are the only victims.”

Ugar said her main goal is education, not protest.

With files from Tamar Harris and Bryann Aguilar