PETA To Real Madrid: Nix Fish From Stadium Food Stands!
For Immediate Release:
30 August 2018
Contact:
Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]
PETA TO REAL MADRID: NIX FISH FROM STADIUM FOOD STANDS!
Football Team’s New Strip Made From Recycled Ocean Plastic Prompts Vegan Plea
Madrid – After learning that Real Madrid’s new third kit is made from recycled plastic waste collected from coastal communities, PETA sent a letter today to the football club’s president, Florentino Pérez, urging him to go one step further in protecting marine life and the oceans by taking fish off the menus at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
In the letter, PETA points out that avoiding “seafood” and going vegan is the best thing anyone can do for the health of the oceans, as commercial fishing kills hundreds of billions of animals worldwide every year and lost or discarded fishing tackle is one of the main sources of ocean pollution. At least 640,000 tonnes of it end up in the oceans every year, mutilating and killing millions of marine animals, including endangered whales, seals, birds, and turtles.
“Fish are intelligent, complex animals, but when caught, they’re impaled, crushed, suffocated, or cut open and gutted, all while conscious,” writes PETA Director Elisa Allen. “If Real Madrid really wants to stem the tide of plastic pollution choking our oceans and killing marine animals, in addition to wearing your heart on your sleeve, put your money where your mouth is and let fish off the hook.”
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – notes that studies have shown that fish not only feel pain but also have long-term memories, show affection, use tools, and can learn to perform tasks. When they’re hauled up from deep in the ocean, they experience the agonising pain of decompression, and the pressure change often damages their internal organs. Eating them is also harmful to humans, as fish flesh contains massive amounts of toxins, such as methylmercury and PCBs, which can cause cancer, brain damage, and birth defects.
PETA’s letter is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.
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