Lesson 1 in how not to be taken seriously

Published 4:45 pm Friday, January 9, 2009

Oh, those folks at PETA crack us up. Fresh for the new year is another wacky request from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who don’t seem to care that their serious messages get shunted aside when they go all silly.

To wit: The group wants Spearfish High School in Spearfish, S.D., to change its name to “Sea Kitten High School.” The new name would “reflect the gentle nature of its current marine namesake,” PETA said in a letter to the school principal.

It’s all part of a bigger “Sea Kitten” campaign aimed at children. The Associated Press reports: “If children were taught to refer to fish as ‘sea kittens,’ reflecting that fish, like cats and dogs, are ‘individuals’ that ‘do have friendship,’ fewer fish might be killed for food or sport, said Pulin Modi, a PETA spokesman.”

You bet. Teach kids that fish are furry and soft and that kittens can swim.

Go, Spartans! That’s the Spearfish High School mascot. Of course.