Mermaid urges Bengalureans to go vegan on World Ocean Day

On June 7, ahead of World Ocean Day, a People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India staffer posed as a mermaid in Bengaluru to urge passersby to consider fish friends and eat vegan.

The event was held at the World War Memorial near Brigade Road at 11 am.


“Fish are playful, intelligent individuals who have the capacity to feel pain and don’t want to die any more than you or I do,” said PETA India coordinator Atharva Deskmukh. If you love animals, the best thing you can do is not eat them, he added.


According to PETA India, scientific studies confirm what marine biologists have been saying for years: Fish feel pain, share knowledge, have long memories and have cultural traditions. Some woo potential partners by creating intricate works of art in the sand on the ocean floor. Yet, more fish are killed each year than all the animals combined. They are impaled, crushed, suffocated or cut open, almost always while they are fully conscious.


Additionally, the fishing industry also causes a lot of collateral damage. It also kills a vast amount of non-target animals including 7,20,000 seabirds, 3,00,000 whales and dolphins, 3,45,000 seals and sea lions and 100 million sharks and rays.