Border Wall Brawl Prompts PETA Call for Wildlife Artwork

PETA Predicts: Wall Dooms Animals, From Jaguars to Javelins, as Water and Food Sources Will Be Inaccessible. Wall Art Must Reflect Such Loss.

For Immediate Release:
February 7, 2019

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

As the debate over funding President Trump’s border wall rages on, PETA points out that if it goes up, the number of animals will go down—markedly. That’s because the wall would spell death for more than 1,500 native animals and plant species and would cut off “non-endangered” animals, such as javelins, from water and food sources that they depend on. It would also prevent them from accessing migratory pathways, because—unlike humans—many species can’t scale, burrow under, or fly over a high, solid structure of that sort. PETA has put out a call for submissions of pro-wildlife artwork that the group will apply to display on the wall, should it be erected.

“No animal who is simply trying to stay alive and isn’t a threat to anyone should pay the price for humans’ political power plays,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA hopes that the artwork that we receive will never be needed—but if it is, we hope that it will help to remind everyone who sees the wall that animals’ right to live in peace was disrespected and disregarded.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that The Salineño Preserve, the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, the National Butterfly Center, and Bentsen–Rio Grande Valley State Park are just some of the wildlife-protection areas that could be severely damaged or wiped out entirely by the proposed wall. Animals under threat include ocelots, ferruginous pygmy owls, Mexican grey wolves, desert bighorn sheep, cottontail rabbits, Quino checkerspot butterflies, and dozens of ground or low flying bird species.

During the recent government shutdown, PETA launched numerous initiatives to help federal employees and animals, including by teaming up with Feed the Children for a giveaway, establishing a hotline for reporting possible violations of animal-protection regulations, and giving away many hundreds of pounds of v-dog “Kinder Kibble” vegan dog food to federal employees and Coast Guard personnel.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.