Fishing museum offered fish 'empathy quilt'

An animal rights group is calling on a fishing heritage centre in Lincolnshire to display a "fish empathy" quilt to show compassion for sea life.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals group (Peta) said it had "reached out" to the council-run heritage centre in Grimsby to donate the quilt for display.

The quilt measures about 300sq ft (28 sq m) and is made from more than 100 squares handcrafted by Peta supporters.

A council spokesperson said it and the heritage centre were awaiting the correspondence from Peta.

Contributors to the quilt include cartoonist Harry Bliss and oceanographic explorer and film producer Jean-Michel Cousteau.

According to Peta, more fish are killed for food each year than all other animals combined.

Peta's vice president of programmes, Elisa Allen, said: "Fish are smart, social animals who feel pain and fear, and don't want to be dragged from their homes and killed any more than a human does.

"Peta encourages Grimsby to tip the scales towards compassion for sea life by displaying this beautiful quilt," she added.

Ms Allen wrote to the heritage centre on 20 November, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

An extract from the letter read: "We'd happily deliver some delicious vegan fish fillets along with the quilt."

In response, a spokesperson for North East Lincolnshire Council said: "We are awaiting correspondence that we believe has been sent by the organisation and will consider their request when it arrives."

However, the spokesperson also pointed out the town's fishing heritage.

"In the 1900s, it was a chief source of income for many families with generations involved in the industry," they said.

"In recent years, Grimsby has been synonymous with fish processing and the town is now home to a seafood processing cluster, which supports around 5,000 local jobs.

"The fishing industry and sea food processing industry continues to play a critical role in the development of North East Lincolnshire, which is reflected in the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre."

It is not the first time Peta has made waves in the region.

Last year, the group paid for an advertisement at a bus stop outside a chip shop in Cleethorpes. The poster claimed enjoying a fish supper was "like eating a dead cat".

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