"Hamburg could promote animal welfare and court sympathy for animals by changing its name to Veggieburg," the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wrote in a letter sent to Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust on Monday.
The German chapter of PETA, which claims 750,000 members worldwide, said the organisation would give Hamburg's childcare facilities 10,000 euros worth of vegetarian burgers if the city changed its name.
But city officials in Hamburg, Germany's second largest city which traces its roots the ninth century, were unmoved.
"I cannot afford to waste my time with this. I don't even want to look at nonsense like this," said Klaus May, a city government spokesman. "But that doesn't mean we Hamburgers don't have a sense of humour."
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