Group Hopes New Name Will Help Children Develop Empathy for Fish

For Immediate Release:
August 6, 2009

Contact:
Ashley Byrne 757-622-7382

Dallas -- If fish were called "sea kittens," would people be less likely to hurt them? PETA thinks so and is on a mission to rebrand fish as "sea kittens." To that end, a PETA member dressed as a sea kitten will hand out plush sea kitten toys and stickers to children at the Dallas World Aquarium on Friday, explaining to them that sea kittens, like land kittens and puppies, are sensitive, intelligent animals who feel pain and deserve respect -- and who from now on should be called "sea kittens" instead of "fish."

When:            Friday, August 7, 12 noon

Where:           The Dallas World Aquarium, 1801 N. Griffin St., Dallas

The action is part of PETA's Sea Kittens campaign, which includes an interactive Web site where visitors can make their own virtual sea kittens as well as an online Sea Kitten Store where people can buy T-shirts and other items to help spread the message.

"If everyone started calling fish 'sea kittens,' they'd be a lot less likely to cruelly confine them to aquariums, violently kill them for food, or painfully hook them for 'sport,'" says PETA's Sea Kittens campaign coordinator, Ashley Byrne. "We think that kids will be the first to embrace the new name."

For more information, please visit PETA.org.