The activists pose for pictures with a passersby
In an initiative from the international organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), two activists dressed as mermaids posed at the Senado Square fountain yesterday.
The event aimed to encourage people not to eat fish by highlighting the suffering of the animals. The activists carried message boards stating in both English and Chinese the sentence “Fishing Hurts!”
But why fish? – the Times asked one of the mermaid-activists. “We are concerned about all animals. We are here today speaking about fish because they are one of these animals and many people don’t think about them unfortunately,” Ashley Fruno, senior campaigner for PETA Asia Pacific said.
Fruno explained that the campaign is a “fun and provocative way” to draw attention to a very serious message. “If you care about fish and any other animal, go vegan!,” she said. “They are actually very intelligent animals with complex social structures, that most people never think about or may not understand,” she added, asking for people to “leave fish off their plates.”
When questioned on the effectiveness of such a campaign, Fruno said that “people are turning their heads and raising their eyebrows today but if we make one person think about veganism or even to start eating a little bit less meat in their diet then we have achieved our goal today,” she said.
“Today we had a lot of people coming and taking photos with us, both Macau residents and tourists and we hope they go home and think about this and learn more on our website about fish. We know that in the Macau diet, both in Portuguese cuisine and Chinese cuisine there is a lot of fish used and we hope from today people think more about fish not just as items on their plate but as living beings,” the activist remarked. She added that based on previous events in the region, people have shown good receptivity and positive reactions and the same would be expected in Macau.
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