Proposals to display a giant fish themed quilt in a north Pembrokeshire town may have to be addressed to Pembrokeshire County Council, it has been revealed.
As previously reported by the Western Telegraph, PETA said it had contacted Fishguard and Goodwick Town Council, asking if the authority will take temporary ownership of their giant fish empathy quilt.
The 28 square metre quilt, which consists of hundreds of squares created by groups and individuals, has already made a splash in the US.
The quilt measures about 28 square metres and is composed of over 100 unique squares handcrafted by PETA supporters, including cartoonist Harry Bliss and oceanographic explorer and film producer Jean-Michel Cousteau.
The animal rights organisation has now asked the north Pembrokeshire town of Fishguard if it will live up to its name by becoming the first place in the UK to display the quilt.
The group’s vice president of programmes Elisa Allen said: “PETA encourages Fishguard to live up to its name and tip the scales towards compassion for sea life by displaying this beautiful quilt.”
PETA says that fish share knowledge and have long memories and cultural traditions – yet more fish are killed for food each year than all other animals combined.
The group says that 38 million tonnes of other aquatic animals – including whales, dolphins, turtles, and sharks – are unintentionally caught or entangled in fishing gear annually as the fishing industry aims to satisfy consumer demand.
Fishguard and Goodwick Town Council said that it had not been formally approached by PETA, rather the group had emailed an individual councillor and the email had gone into their spam emails.
“The town council were unaware of this initiative and have not been formally approached,” said a council spokesperson.
“Having now looked at the email, I would advise that the town council is unable to make a comment or decision on this without agreement at a full council meeting.”
The spokesperson added that it was unlikely that the town council would have an appropriate location to display the quilt.
“Due to the size of the quilt, it would most likely need to be presented in the main town hall.
“It should be noted that the main hall in Fishguard falls under Pembrokeshire County Council so ultimately they would need to be approached.”
The spokesperson said that as the main hall is an open public building, it may pose a problem on security levels to ensure the quilt is suitably protected.
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