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For immediate release:
May 3, 2021
Contact:
But back 202-483-7382
Washington – In his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden reversed many of his predecessor’s decisions that endangered wildlife and the environment – and in a letter sent to Biden this morning, PETA and Sea piracy Producer Kip Andersen asks him to aim another one: Executive Order 13921, which the Trump administration issued to authorize the proliferation of destructive and deadly offshore fish farms.
PETA notes that these cramped, unsafe spaces encourage the spread of parasites and disease and kill fish, which, like all animals, hurt terribly, including suffocating or getting into the heart. Fish farms also pollute surrounding waters with antibiotics and chemicals, allow viral infections and bacterial diseases to spread through tidal currents to wild fish, and put other animals at risk of entanglement in fishing gear.
“The last thing our oceans need is the most fish farms, plague pests, parasites and pollutants,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is asking the president to protect our oceans and everyone who lives in or near them by turning off this reckless order.”
PETA, whose motto is in part that “the animals are not ours to eat” – opposes specisism, a worldview focused on human excellence. For more information visit please visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…
This is followed by a letter from PETA and Andersen to Biden.
May 3, 2021
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden
President of the U.S.A
Dear Mr. President,
We write on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), its 6.5 million members and supporters, and millions of viewers worried about the revelations in the documentary. Sea piracyto require you to repeal Executive Order 13921, which the Trump administration issued to support the proliferation of cruel and environmentally destructive offshore aquaculture facilities, limit environmental impact assessments of their development, and burden taxpayers with the costs of determining where corporations will be allowed to build them.
These fish farms inflict significant suffering on farmed fish, which are often crowded and unsafe conditions, which contribute to the spread of parasitic infections and diseases. They are usually fed unnatural foods to reduce feed costs, as well as dyes and unnatural additives. As a result of these conditions, high mortality and stress-related injury rates are often observed. When it comes time to slaughter surviving fish, there are no federal laws or regulations to ensure that they are treated humanely, even though they may feel pain. Many traditional methods of slaughtering fish are terribly cruel. These include being suffocated in the air or on ice, causing them to endure pain and terror for 10 minutes or more before finally dying; pierce their heart or cut the gill arches without first stunning; and killing them with carbon dioxide after the first drop in the temperature of their water, which immobilizes them, but can leave them completely conscious.
Fish farming also threatens wild fish and marine mammal populations and the health of our ocean ecosystems in many ways. When farmed fish escapes from a facility (a common occurrence due to factors such as weather, predators and equipment failures), many thousands of fish can be released into the ocean in a single incident. The fish can then compete with local wild fish for food and space, interbreed with them, and cause new diseases. Even when farmed fish remain locked up, the intense nature of such isolation increases the risk of transmission of deadly viral infections and bacterial diseases to wild populations, including endangered species, through tidal currents.
Marine fish farms also contribute pollutants to the ocean environment. Antibiotics are often used to prevent disease in farmed fish, and studies show that up to 99% of the drugs administered end up in the environment. Overuse of antibiotics is known to increase the resistance of many bacteria. Excess metals and nutrients from fish feed additives, dioxins in feed ingredients, excess nitrogen and phosphorus from feed, and antifouling agents used to reduce the growth of marine organisms on structures can adversely affect sensitive marine habitats and human health.
The federal government has recognized that fisheries also pose a threat to marine mammals, including endangered and endangered animals. They pose a risk of falling into fishing gear. They can displace some marine mammals from their habitats, interfere with critical areas that migratory species need, and cause other behavioral disturbances. Farms may also try to contain marine mammals that are attracted to these irritants in their environment, using techniques such as pyrotechnics and fireworks, sirens, sling shots, electronically charged barriers, strobe lights, as well as banging, poking and shooting at them “not from weapons “. deadly “ammunition. Many of these containment tactics have serious environmental implications in addition to their dubious effectiveness in curbing fish predation. Several similar techniques are used in an attempt to scare off birds that naturally prey on farmed species.
By issuing and implementing Executive Order 13921, the Trump administration has made it clear that it was aimed at reducing the burden on commercial fishing operations, and is clearly shifting the planning costs of such operations to taxpayers and reducing regulatory due diligence on proposed projects, despite extensive harm to fish and marine environment. Your administration has already taken many actions to suspend, suspend or reverse decisions by the Trump administration that threaten wildlife and the environment. We thank you for these efforts and urge you to also repeal Executive Order 13921 to end this destructive policy to protect countless fish, other marine animals including birds, a sensitive marine environment, and possibly even human health from significant harm.
Yours sincerely,
Ingrid Newkirk, President
Kip Andersen, Producer, Seaspiracy
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