‘Fish are sea-kittens’: PETA’s rebranding effort

Now here’s a fresh twist to your everyday menu of sea-food. If someone tells you that tuna, mackerel, salmon and pomfret are sea kittens, would you stop eating sea-food? If they go on to say that these creatures are capable of affection and feel pain, just like we do, then would you feel guilty for having devoured these ‘sensitive’ creatures all these years? Perhaps not, but that is precisely the ambitious plan of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

PETA’s think-tank has come up with a suggestion straight out of a marketing handbook. Rebrand fish, it said. The current image of fish is associated with qualities like “slithery, slimy, hook”, etc. These should be replaced with ‘sea-kittens’, ‘cute’, ‘vulnerable’, ‘animals that can feel pain’ and ‘capable of affection’ according to the PETA’s advisors.

Enthusiastic supporters of the group believe that fish may someday enjoy pet status in homes as do cats, dogs and other domesticated animals. But not everybody shares that optimism. Marketing consultant Bharathi Ramanujan, although a strict vegetarian himself, says it may take a great deal more to get people to change their attitudes towards fish, especially if they belong to fishing communities or eat fish on a daily basis.

In view of PETA’s past efforts, their new campaign is expected to be striking, if not effective. Its recent anti-fur campaign featuring top models had raked up more controversy than the desired results.

The re-branding of fish, if successful, may halt or reduce the illegal whaling operations, the killing of dolphins for food and the destructive fishing methods employed by some fishing communities in the world, he feels.

PETA’s new efforts appear to be thought-through and designed to catch its audiences young. It has begun with a series of bedtime stories aimed at children. These stories refer to fish as sea-kittens. Alongside the series is a website that allows visitors to ‘Design Your Own Sea-kitten’. There would also be a sea-kittens store selling popular merchandise such as T-shirts.

The renaming campaign was kicked off earlier this month in Fayetteville with a huge sea-kitten welcoming school children. This giant sea-kitten explained to the tots that sea-kittens are like puppies and kittens. They deserve the same respect because they are sensitive, capable of affection and can feel pain, PETA’s press release stated.

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