New Submersible Drones to Watch Anglers on National Hunting and Fishing Day

PETA’s ‘Air Angels’ and ‘Aquatic Angels’ Will Record Cruel and Illegal Activities

For Immediate Release:
September 25, 2014

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

Hunters and anglers who are planning to participate in National Hunting and Fishing Day on September 27 had best beware: PETA could be watching. Following the successful launch of its Air Angels hobby drones—which allow kind “hunter watcher hobbyists” to capture and share video footage of illegal or cruel hunting practices—PETA is introducing a new “angler watcher” drone using submersible technology. The group is currently recruiting members and supporters to field-test the new drones in all bodies of water—so all anglers who cast a line of cruelty on Fish Amnesty Day, also marked on September 27, should consider themselves forewarned.

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, there are five times as many wildlife watchers as there are hunters and twice as many wildlife watchers as there are anglers. Similar to the way the Air Angels drones allow people who care about wildlife to catch hunters who commit cruel or illegal acts—such as drinking while in the possession of a firearm, failing to follow a deer whom they’ve injured but not killed, or leaving bear cubs orphaned—PETA’s new submersible Aquatic Angels drones will help combat anglers who fish in restricted areas, catch protected species, or chum for sharks illegally.

“We plan to try out our new submersible drones in lakes, rivers, and oceans to ensure that anglers are following all the local laws,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “The drones will also help document the cruelty inherent in fishing—showing how fish suffer when they’re hooked and thrown back into the water injured and how other unsuspecting wildlife are ensnared by lines, nets, lures, and other equipment that gets lost or stuck under the water.”

PETA, whose motto states, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment,” won’t be releasing the exact locations where the air and water drones will be operating so that all who participate in the “sport” of hunting and killing animals will be lawful and compassionate, knowing that PETA might be filming their actions.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.