Morrissey Releases 'Be Kind to Animals or I'll Kill You' Merchandise T-Shirts

Morrissey has launched an online store selling merchandise, including T-shirts with a typically Morrissey-esque animal rights slogan.

The singer opened the Morrissey Mporium for users in the UK and the US. Among the mugs, mouse mats and pillow cases which are available is a t-shirt with the words "Be kind to animals or I'll kill you".

The former Smiths frontman is famous for being a devout and militant vegan. As well as naming The Smith's 1985 album Meat is Murder, the outspoken singer has also been criticised for comparing killing animals for meat to Auschwitz and describing Chinese people as a "subspecies" because of their treatment of animals.

The launch of the store was announced on the unofficial Morrissey fansite True to You. The slogan is another example of the strident vegan's strong rhetoric about his beliefs.

The singer caused controversy in January after he said there is "no difference" between eating animals and paedophilia.

In a Q+A session for True to You with fans, he said: "If you believe in the abattoir then you would support Auschwitz. There's no difference. People who would disagree with this statement have probably never been inside an abattoir."

In February 2013, he also pulled out of an appearance on US talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live as he would be appearing alongside a cast member of duck hunting-themed reality show Duck Dynasty.

"I can't take the risk of being on a show alongside people who, in effect, amount to animal serial killers," he explained.