PETA to Host a Local … Fishing Event?
For Immediate Release:
June 4, 2021
Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382
By inventing “trash fishing”—that is, scooping garbage out of the Detroit River (or any other body of water) instead of aquatic animals—father-and-son team Tom and Mark Nardone inspired PETA supporters to tackle trash from tires to tin cans in lakes and rivers across the country. Tomorrow, the “trash fishing” founders—who are both available for interviews—will lead PETA’s community cleanup event at the Ecorse Boat Ramp, complete with eco-friendly gloves and compostable trash bags for attendees, and PETA’s own Tiffany Tuna mascot will hand out vegan snacks such as Swedish Fish candy.
When: Saturday, June 5, 12 noon
Where: Ecorse Boat Ramp, 4633 W. Jefferson Ave., Ecorse
“Discarded tackle is a leading cause of pollution, proving that fishing doesn’t just hurt fish—it also trashes the planet,” says PETA Director of Campaigns Danielle Katz. “PETA is delighted to partner with the ‘trash fishing’ founders for a fun and family-friendly afternoon of making the Detroit River safer for fish, birds, turtles, and other wildlife.”
Every year, anglers leave behind a trail of victims that includes millions of animals who sustain debilitating injuries after swallowing fishhooks or becoming entangled in fishing line. Some 640,000 tons of fishing “ghost gear” enter the world’s oceans every year.
PETA—which has also hosted “trash fishing” events in Denver, Los Angeles, and New York City—notes that traditional fishing is a cruel practice of hooking gentle animals through their sensitive mouths, watching them slowly suffocate, and sometimes even gutting them while they’re still alive. Even though fish are now known to feel pain as acutely as mammals do, more of them are killed for food each year than all other animals combined.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
