PETA Global Issue 2

Fish Empathy Quilt on Dispay

Use Your Creativity to Help Fish To call attention to the billions of fish who are abused and killed for food and “sport,” PETA is harnessing the talents of compassionate crafters to create the world’s first Fish Empathy Quilt. Want to help? Contribute a panel! Send your fish-friendly creation (measuring 17 inches x 17 inches with an additional 1/4-inch seam allowance around the design) to Fish Empathy Quilt, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510.

Memorable Mascots Make a Splash Over the years, PETA has deployed numerous costumed characters to help send a message of compassion for sea animals. For example, “Tiffany Tuna” handed out free vegan starter kits and delicious vegan seafood samples to passersby at San Francisco’s famous Fisherman’s Wharf – while two beautiful “mermaids,” perched atop a decorated pedicab, took part in the Coney Island Mermaid Parade to encourage onlookers to leave fish off their forks. When the parade came to a halt for a moment, a young girl who was thoughtfully staring at the cab declared, “Fish are friends, not food!” Bingo!

Parents: Don’t Let Your Kids Become ‘Hookers’

Fishing is a blood sport that subjects animals to the agony of being impaled, torn from their aquatic homes, and gutted, yet some parents still seem to think that it’s a harmless pastime for children. That’s why PETA warns parents not to raise their children to become “hookers” – and while being a hooker of fish may not be “the world’s oldest profession,” it’s still long overdue for retirement. There’s no longer any doubt that fish experience fear when chased and pain when impaled on hooks. Biologist Culum Brown, author of a study about fish sentience in the journal Animal Cognition, says that “it would be impossible for fish to survive as the cognitively and behaviorally complex animals they are without a capacity to feel pain.” All parents who fish send their kids the dangerous message that it’s enjoyable to torment and abuse animals. Let’s raise kids to be compassionate toward fish – and other animals – not cruel. Visit PETAKids.com for fun, animal-friendly activities that you and the children in your life can enjoy together.

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