‘Don’t Let Your Kids Become Hookers!’ Says Banner Over Youth Fishing Event

PETA Will Fly Anti-Fishing Banner Over Lake Springfield

For Immediate Release:
June 8, 2018

Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382

A massive PETA banner proclaiming, “Don’t Let Your Kids Become Hookers! Be Kind to Animals—Don’t Fish!” will be displayed over Lake Springfield on Saturday, the day of the National Youth Fishing Association’s Illinois Division Championship. The banner will be flown over the event by a plane for two hours.

When:    Saturday, June 9, 12 noon–2 p.m.

Where:    The plane will fly back and forth, from Midland Island, over Lindsay Bridge (the boat launch for tournament participants), to the Spaulding Dam boat launch.

“Fish feel pain and fear just as all other animals do, yet they’re hooked by their mouths, yanked from their aquatic homes, and left to suffocate slowly,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s banner will remind families that we should be teaching kids to have compassion for others, not to torment other living beings for ‘sport.’”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that fish have unique personalities, can recognize human faces, and can retain memories and think ahead. Their sensitive mouths are full of nerve endings, and those who are released after they’re hooked often die from their injuries and the loss of their protective outer coating during handling. In addition, discarded fishing tackle injures birds, turtles, and other wildlife.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.