The people at PETA, in an attempt to increase compassion for fish, have renamed the watery vertebrates. Now, PETA is calling them "sea kittens". On their website, PETA has a "make your own sea kitten" game. There, kids (or anyone else) can create a more adorable version of a fish, complete with a goatee, litter box, tiara, or kitty whiskers. And of course they come with default batting eyelashes. Just like a real fish!
Now, I'm not trashing PETA. I'm all for the ethical treatment of animals. But you'd think they would realize that making cute animated versions of food, including fish, only makes it look more appetizing, especially to kids. Haven't they noticed all the BBQ restaurants with anthropomorphic pig mascots? Or the talking, dancing Chicken McNuggets that have had decades of children screaming for Happy Meals? Kids see these animations and their first thought isn't "I want to help it!" - It's "I want to eat it!"
Trying to re-name fish isn't going to get people to stop eating fish. If anything, it will get people to stop associating the dead thing that they eat with the living thing they put on the table. PETA can call fish "sea kittens" all day long, but you're never going to walk into a restaurant be told about the "sea kitten of the day". Parents looking to cook a quick meal aren't going to tell their kids "we're having sea kitten sticks for dinner tonight".
My "sea kitten" is a tuna with a walrus 'stache, John Lennon glasses, and - despite being underwater - a bowl of water. He looks delicious.
You can create your own "sea kitten" here
- Jennifer Jacob Brown
jjacob@themeridianstar.com
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