PETA Wants to Help Kids Get Hooked on Compassion
For Immediate Release:
April 14, 2011
Contact:
Kristin Richards 202-483-7382
Lake Ridge, Va. --Holding signs that read, "Lake Ridge: Call Off the Cruelty," PETA members—one wearing a giant fish costume—will converge on the Lake Ridge Parks and Recreation Association's "Fish Out" fishing event on Friday. PETA's point? That fish are intelligent, sensitive animals who experience fear and pain just like other animals do and that they shouldn't be hooked and pulled into an environment in which they can't breathe. The association plans to dump 750 rainbow trout into the Tall Oaks swimming pool and encourage residents—including children—to fish them out.
Where: Northeast corner of Cotton Mill Drive and Nutmeg Court, Lake Ridge
When: Friday, April 15, 11:30 a.m.
"If 'Fish Out' organizers impaled dogs or cats with metal hooks, as they are asking residents to do with fish, they'd be swapping fish tales in a jail cell," says PETA campaigner Katie Arth. "Lake Ridge parents deserve to have genuine family-friendly entertainment for their kids to enjoy."
Hundreds of new studies are blowing old ideas about fish out of the water and proving that fish are intelligent animals who have impressive long-term memories as well as the ability to watch and learn, use tools, and form sophisticated social structures.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.