Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is going against centuries of Italian tradition and asking others to follow his example.

Italy's butchers' lobby Assocarni is livid. Reuters reports that they attacked the billionaire media tycoon and called on advertisers to boycott his television channels and publications.

The 80-year-old four-times prime minister is asking others to "defend life, choose a vegetarian Easter," this holiday. In his campaign to change the way Italians celebrate, he's 'saved' five lambs from the Easter slaughter and was seen posing in an advertisement  for the Italian League in Defense of Animals.

In a statement released to the press, the butcher's lobby expressed it's disgust for Berlusconi's campaign: "It's incredible that even though he is a business person he is contributing to damaging the meat industry to try to get the votes of animal lovers."

According to Reuters, the demand for Easter lamb and goat has declined sharply over the last five years to due to an economic slump and the growing success of vegetarian campaigns.

What do you think? Is this just a gimmick to get votes, or does Berlusconi have a good point?