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On July 17 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent Gil the Fish to lead a protest against fishing in Watertown, New York. In a press release PETA gushed on about the horrors of fishing. "Fish feel pain -- they have neurochemical systems like humans and sensitive nerve endings in their lips and mouths. They begin to die slowly of suffocation the moment they are pulled out of the water."
As Ingrid Newkirk summed up PETAs view, "Animal suffering of any kind is not a sport." PETA wants a national ban on fishing enacted.
If it is wrong for fish to suffer is it okay to shoot bears and birds that might eat fish?
In other PETA-related news
PETA urged people to send letters to Sundial Beach and Tennis Resort on Sanibal Island, Florida, because an "Ecocenter" there sells hermit crabs. According to a PETA release, selling the crabs is "disrespectful and ecologically unsound."
PETA demanded Sea Pines, South Carolina, abandon plans to kill 200 deer who are destroying plants in the area (selling crabs is unsound, destroying flora is perfectly acceptable.)
In a bizarre twist, PETA wants Turner Broadcasting Systems (TBS) to stop running a series of short spots called "Monkey Shorts." The shorts feature chimpanzees and orangutans dressed up as different characters who move their lips and move around the screen as a human voice over plays. The shorts are shown between TBS feature movies. According to PETA, "even the most considerate of trainers cannot compensate for the anxiety and frustration of such an unnatural life in captivity."
Sources:
Giant "fish" to tackle fishing in Watertown. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Press Release, July 16, 1998.
Help stop the sale of hermit crabs in Florida. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Press Release, July 1998.
Help protest the slaughter of deer at Hilton Head, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Press Release, July 1998.
Urge TBS to cancel 'Monkey Shorts,'. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Press Release, July 1998.