‘Censorship Is Un-American’: PETA Urges Steamship Authority to Reject Pressure From Profiteers to Ban Animal Rights Ads
For Immediate Release:
June 27, 2024
Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382
After learning that The Steamship Authority is under pressure from lobster fishers and other fishing interests to change its ad policy to allow only government-sponsored advertisements following its posting of a pro-vegan ad placed by PETA on the Woods Hole ferry, the group dispatched a letter to the agency’s Board of Governors today urging it to reject such a blatant attempt to stifle free speech. PETA notes that its ad wasn’t graphic and simply pointed out that imperiled right whales, like the one found dead on Martha’s Vineyard in January with a lobster rope embedded in her tail, shouldn’t be sustaining fatal injuries from fishing gear.
“It’s un-American to try to sink the message that entanglement in discarded lobster and fishing gear is driving right whales to extinction,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA urges The Steamship Authority to stand up for values and facts by resisting pressure from monied interests who put profits over lives.”
In a similar case, a judge recently ordered the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to pay PETA more than $250,000 after the group successfully challenged a prohibition on ads for noncommercial speech that aren’t sponsored by a government agency.
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. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to the Board of Governors follows.
June 27, 2024
Robert R. Jones, Chair
James M. Malkin, Vice Chair
Peter J. Jeffrey, Secretary
Moira E. Tierney, Board Member
Robert F. Ranney, Board Member
Board of Governors, The Steamship Authority
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Dear Members of the Board of Governors:
I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally, including many thousands across Massachusetts—in response to an appeal by vested interests to update your advertising policy after receiving criticism related to our current ad, which asks, “Did your lobster kill a whale?” We respectfully urge you to reject any policy that would stifle free speech—the very foundation of our democracy and the envy of the rest of the world—and resist being influenced by an exploitative industry that prioritizes profits over protecting whales and seems to feel you can be intimidated and “bought.”
We hold sacred the opportunity for freedom of expression and the ability to share and debate ideas—even those we disagree with—as fundamental rights, agents of change, and means of evolving as a society. PETA’s ad, which doesn’t contain any graphic imagery and simply points out that imperiled right whales, like the one found dead on Martha’s Vineyard in January with a lobster rope embedded in her tail, shouldn’t be sustaining fatal injuries from fishing gear. It is un-American for anyone to try to silence facts and free speech.
It may be an inconvenient fact, but an alarming 85% of North Atlantic right whales have been entangled in fishing gear at least once. Scientists estimate that even one human-caused death a year threatens the species’ chances of recovery. Fishing gear kills 300,000 whales and dolphins annually. These animals are callously referred to as “bycatch”—a euphemism for nontarget animals who become caught or entangled in fishing gear and then are discarded or simply die while struggling to escape.
We trust that you will not be swayed by monied interests, especially in these times of extreme polarization when messages challenging needless violence and championing compassion are sorely needed. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your response.
Very truly yours,
Ingrid Newkirk
President
cc: Robert B. Davis, General Manager, The Steamship Authority
