‘Got Worms?’ Disturbing Warning Over Parasite-Filled Fish Prompts New PETA Campaign
For Immediate Release:
June 6, 2025
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
After a just-released study from the University of California, San Diego revealed that freshwater fish in Southern California are teeming with human-infecting parasitic worms, PETA plans to make waves in the area with a billboard urging everyone to keep worms and fish out of their bodies by going vegan. PETA points out that getting hooked on vegan fish filets is easier than ever, thanks to an array of delicious vegan fish options—including Gardein’s fishless filets, Good Catch’s fish-free tuna, and Vegan ZeaStar’s salmon sashimi—that are readily available in grocery stores.
According to the study, more than 90 percent of popular freshwater fish in local fishing areas contain flatworms—and humans who eat an infected fish can suffer gastrointestinal problems, lethargy, and even heart attacks and strokes.
“Eating a fish filled with flatworms is not only stomach-churning but also cruel, as fish feel pain just as humans do,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA encourages everyone to leave fish in peace and reduce their risk of a potentially fatal infection by eating cruelty-free and worm-free vegan foods.”
Fish communicate and develop relationships with one another, can use tools, and understand simple addition and subtraction. They have long memories, sing to each other, share knowledge, and some can recognize themselves in a mirror—yet billions are abused and killed for food each year, more than all other animals combined, and they suffer immensely when they’re impaled through the mouth, hauled out of their aquatic homes, and gutted open or left to suffocate to death.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness and free vegan starter kits for anyone thinking of making the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
