This Lenten season, PETA is seeking an end to the Friday fish fry. In a letter sent to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) this morning, PETA suggests that bishops and congregants abstain from consuming animal products throughout Lent, including fish on Fridays, and to help with the transition is sending a care package filled with Gardein Fishless Filets to try.

In the letter, PETA notes that while Lenten abstinence laws treat fish differently from other animals, fish are intelligent, sensitive beings who feel pain and fear just like cows, pigs, chickens, and humans do.

Research indicates that mother fish protect their babies by hiding them in their mouths if a predator comes by, fish can tell time and swim to a feeding place if a routine is established, and they can remember a way to escape a net for up to seven years.

“How can we show respect for God’s creation as long as fish are impaled, crushed, pulled from their aquatic homes, and sliced open and gutted while they’re fully conscious?” asks PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA is encouraging Catholic bishops to send a strong message of compassion and mercy for all God’s creatures by choosing vegan meals for Lent.”

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