PETA Members To Protest Fishing During Stop In Yakima

Wearing little more than fish tails and shimmering body paint, topless PETA members will lie "dead" on the ground in Yakima on Thursday to protest the cruelty of killing fish for food or sport. Other PETA members will hold signs that read, "Fishing Hurts" and "Gutted Alive," to let residents know that fish are intelligent, sensitive animals who experience stress and pain when they are cruelly hooked or hauled up from the deep in commercial nets. The protest is part of a week of action leading up to national Fish Amnesty Day, September 24.

"Although not as familiar to us as dogs and cats, fish are just as deserving of kindness as are the animals with whom we share our homes," says PETA campaigner Hayden Hamilton. "Causing these gentle animals of the sea to suffocate to death or die slowly from infections caused by hooks is animal abuse, plain and simple."

Scientific studies confirm that fish are sensitive individuals who feel pain, just as dogs and cats do. The journal Fish and Fisheries cited more than 500 research papers on fish intelligence demonstrating that fish are smart, can use tools, and have impressive long-term memories and sophisticated social structures.