January 2009
PETA received a barrage of complaints about a senior staff member of Philadelphia Insurance Companies when reports surfaced that he had swallowed a live goldfish for a company fundraiser. We fired off a letter to the company’s corporate headquarters to inform executives that this could be considered illegal by local laws, and we asked them to take action to ensure that no similar event ever happens again. We also pointed out that fish are smart animals with distinct personalities and that they feel pain and fear just as other animals do. This cruel behavior, therefore, was no more acceptable than eating a live dog or cat would have been. Philadelphia Insurance Companies quickly enacted a rule banning the use of live animals for entertainment.
