PETA MERMAIDS STICK UP FOR FISH IN KL

MERMAID....Davina Goh sits prettily as a mermaid with her cohorts in the streets of KL.

By : NOORSILA ABD MAJID

YOU'VE just got to give it to the activists from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) when it comes to creative public campaigns.

Dressed as body-painted mermaids, the animal activists literally stopped traffic in Jalan Bukit Bintang on Wednesday with their latest campaign to urge Malaysians to save fish by going vegetarian.

No kidding. The four lovely mermaids, including Malaysian theatre personality Davina Goh, braved the scorching afternoon heat and lay down on a fish net spread across the busy road in front of Maybank for about an hour holding signs that read 'Try to Relate to Who's On Your Plate'.

"It was hot. I had to close my eyes," Davina related her experience to The Daily Chilli. "But it felt great being able to do an action of responsibility."

The campaign marked her coming out as a vegetarian. And oh boy, the first-timer was nervous about her public display of affection for fish.

"It was kind of a shock for me when we walked out of our hotel in Changkat Bukit Bintang," the actress recollected. "People were honking and staring at us. I asked Ashley (the senior campaigner for PETA Asia Pacific) how she managed to do it all the time, she said 'You'll get used to it'."

PETA Chief Campaigner, Claire Fryer explained: "Fish is often a forgotten animal. They feel pain too. Commercial farming and fishing are cruelty. We want people to have respect for all lives and go completely vegetarian."