Group Hopes to Teach Respect, Compassion by Pointing to Sea of Evidence That Marine Animals Are Intelligent and Can Feel Pain
For Immediate Release:
May 2, 2012
Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382
New Castle, Del. -- PETA has sent a letter to Louis Mancuso of the U.S. General Services Administration and Timothy Slavin of the Delaware Historic Preservation Office's Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs offering to reopen the Liston Range Rear Lighthouse—the state's tallest lighthouse, which is located 3 miles inland from the Delaware River in New Castle County—to the public by converting it into the world headquarters of PETA's Fish Empathy Project. The project seeks to foster respect for, kindness toward, and understanding of fish and other marine animals who are often harmed and killed out of ignorance. The lighthouse, which was first lit in 1877, has been closed to the public for years. It was just made available to eligible, nonprofit entities for educational, recreational, cultural, or historic preservation purposes.
PETA's center would feature educational displays proving that fish are intelligent animals who can learn tasks, use tools, and show affection as well as feel pain when they are dragged from the sea in nets or impaled on hooks. The facility would also include a café that serves delicious faux-fish sticks and other tasty fish-friendly food.
"For years, lighthouses have helped protect people at sea, and now, as we've learned more about fish and other aquatic animals, it seems appropriate that they would be used to protect sea life, too," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "The more that people learn how clever and sensitive fish are, the less likely they'll be to stick a hook or a fork in them."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to Louis Mancuso, realty specialist for the U.S. General Services Administration, follows.
May 2, 2012
Louis
Mancuso
Realty
Specialist
GSA,
Real Property Utilization and Disposal Division (4PZN)
Timothy
A. Slavin
Delaware
Historic Preservation Officer
Delaware,
Division of Historic and Cultural Affairs|
Historic
Preservation Office
Dear Mr. Mancuso,
I am writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including thousands in Delaware, with a proposal that would help restore public access to the Liston Range Rear Light Tower while simultaneously increasing respect and compassion for sea animals. We would like to acquire the lighthouse, renovate it, and turn it into the headquarters for PETA's Fish Empathy Project.
Visitors to the lighthouse would be able to tour the historic building while also learning that fish are intelligent, sensitive animals who feel pain and fear just as dogs and cats do. There is a veritable sea of evidence that fish suffer enormously when dragged from their homes in large fishing nets or impaled with metal hooks by anglers. Dr. Donald Broom, a scientific advisor to the British government, has said, "The scientific literature is quite clear. Anatomically, physiologically and biologically, the pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals."
If given guardianship of the Liston Range Rear Light Tower, PETA would install interactive educational displays to help the public learn more about fish, about why they should never be eaten or tormented for "sport" (e.g., fishing), and about the harm that the mercury and PCBs in fish flesh can do to people's health. The lighthouse would also be the perfect location to display the world's first "fish empathy quilt," a 300-square-foot quilt made by PETA volunteers that pays tribute to the billions of fish needlessly killed for their flesh or abused by anglers. We will open a Fish Empathy Café at the lighthouse serving faux-fish sticks and other tasty vegan dishes. And every visitor 12 and under will be given a free plush toy fish emblazoned with the tagline "Fish Are Friends, Not Food!"
Please contact me about this exciting opportunity to promote compassion for animals while preserving an important part of Delaware's history. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President