Sea Kittens: The New Pet of PETA

With it's letters to several schools across the nation asking them to rename their schools the "sea kittens", PETA is once again in the spotlight. This latest campaign of PETA's to rebrand fish as cozy little kittens of the sea has been greeted with laughter in most places. The animal rights group is usually at the fore front of attention gathering and controversial campaigns.

The reasoning behind the new name is that fish have feelings too. The press releases from PETA and their letters to numerous high schools have outlined their facts about the gentleness and family orientation of fish as a whole. They feel that renaming fish "sea kittens" will result in a kinder feeling towards fish and would cause a lessening in any desire to eat or kill fish. PETA's official website for the "sea kitten" campaign states "When your name can also be used as a verb that means driving a hook through your head, it's time for a serious image makeover. And who could possibly want to put a hook through a sea kitten?" They are also asking for supporters of this campaign to email the Fish and Wildlife Service to ask them to "stop promoting the hunting of sea kittens." The "sea kitten" campaign is aimed primarily at children and includes bedtime stories about "sea kittens", merchandise and computer games.

Here, in Mississippi, fishing is a long standing and time honored hobby and pastime. It is also a way to supplement diets and help feed hungry families. While I don't doubt that there are people, and even communities, in America where the sea kitten campaign may take hold, I doubt it will catch on in the South. When asked about sea kittens, most southerners would probably ask you if that was some kind of porn or something. In all reality, trying to rename something like a fish to a cuddly name like sea kitten is unrealistic. I can only wonder if PETA really thinks this will work. PETA's letters to several high schools asked them to change their names from such things as "Whitefish" and "Spearfish" to "Sea Kitten." Can you imagine a group of high school football players telling their opponents that their new name is the Sea Kittens? Violence in Southern football stadiums would reach an all time high.

The pain that fish feel and their family gathering and farming capabilities is not in question. But, it is also true that cows and ducks and deer feel pain as well. And people are much more likely to stop killing and eating any of these creatures before they worry about a fish. Or a "sea kitten." Perhaps PETA should worry more about their own image and less about "sea kittens." Although, I do have to say that I am now very tempted to order "sea kitten sticks" at a restaurant and see what happens.

http://www.peta.org/sea_kittens/