PETA WATCH

Protests in Florida organised by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against fishing have been met with a sour response and a call for the lobby to research its facts.

Topless PETA protesters donned green body paint, spandex pants and elaborate fins at a range of locations recently to lecture others not to eat fish.

But some locals in Naples were not impressed:

'I think it’s indecent exposure,' said Brian Belanger.

'They’re barking up the wrong tree. We catch fish to eat them. It’s not cruel. That’s what God put them here for. I can’t believe they’re letting them do this.'

The lobby is seeking to eradicate fishing and has been pulling ludicrous stunts and pushing misinformation on the issue for years.

'Fish feel pain and fear,' claimed professional activist Ashley Byrne from PETA.

Fish and Wildlife Research Institute spokesman Henry Cabbage however dispelled the myth that fish felt fear and pain in the same way that humans do.

'I suppose every living thing has fear sensations to avoid predators and danger,' the Tallahassee-based Cabbage said. 'As far as pain, it’s a little more complicated.'

Cabbage said fish likely experience an unpleasant sensation, but not anything like what human beings feel.

'They don’t have a nervous system like ours,' he said. 'Theirs is much simpler — it’s not complex enough to experience pain like we know it. It cannot be compared to what you or I call pain.

Cabbage said any research PETA cites stating otherwise is flawed.