'Payback Is Hell' Ad Attacks the Gulf

Humans Are the Deadliest Predators in the Water, Says PETA

For Immediate Release:
September 27, 2011

Contact:
Kristin Richards 202-483-7382

Sarasota, Fla. — Prompted by reports that a man was bitten by a shark on Saturday while spearfishing in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Anna Maria Island, PETA plans to run an outdoor advertising campaign on benches and billboards near the island that makes the point that the deadliest killers in the water aren't sharks—they're humans. The ad shows a human "drumstick" hanging out of a shark's mouth next to the words "Payback Is Hell. Go Vegan."

"Humans hook, spear, maim, and kill fish for 'sport' every day," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "The most dangerous predator of all is the one holding the fishing rod or standing at the 'all you can eat' seafood buffet."

Fish are aware of their surroundings, have complex nervous systems, and feel pain. Yet every year, humans kill tens of millions of sharks and billions of other sea animals in horrifying ways. "Sport" fishers impale the animals with spears and metal hooks and drag them out of their natural environment as, thrashing and struggling for their lives, they slowly suffocate or die from their injuries. Most fish in restaurants and supermarkets are caught using huge commercial fishing nets—sometimes the length of a football field—which catch everything and everyone in their path. When hauled up from the deep (along with dolphins, turtles, seals, and other "trash catch"), fish suffocate or are crushed to death, their eyeballs bulging out of their heads from the pressure of sudden surfacing. Many are still alive when their throats and bellies are cut open.

For more information or to find faux-fish and other vegetarian recipes, please visit PETA.org.