People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is weighing in on the proposed wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, claiming it would be “death-inducing” for a number of species.
The animal rights group tells its followers that if the wall does go up, it hopes to decorate it with photos of the creatures that will be harmed, saying:
PETA opposes a border wall because it spells certain death by starvation and thirst and the end of access to foraging and nesting ground—as well as blocking the migratory paths—for millions of animals who won’t be able to scale it, fly over it, or burrow under it. But in case the wall goes up, PETA is inviting caring people to send us artwork encouraging compassion for wildlife, and we’ll apply to place it on this death-inducing barrier.
Animals have nothing to do with human immigration issues, yet they’re often victims of such political conflicts.
Even the conservative National Wildlife Federation called the wall “one of the biggest potential ecological disasters of our time.”
PETA claims the animals that “would be doomed” include large cats, black bears, Mexican gray wolves, desert bighorn sheep, javelinas, rabbits, butterflies and “dozens” of birds.
PETA includes a quote from a research scientist about the critters’ plight.
“You think a bird’s just going to fly over a wall, but that’s not necessarily the case,” Dr. Aaron D. Flesch, a research scientist at the University of Arizona, says in the PETA article posted on its website.
“Ferruginous pygmy owls, for example, are low-flying birds,” PETA writes.
PETA claims that these same animals are already suffering because of “habitat loss” and climate change, and a wall would add to that by limiting access to food, water, and “potential mates.”
PETA writes, “Send us your artwork urging people to extend the circle of compassion to all living, feeling beings.”
It also is asking people to contact their representatives in Congress to express their concerns.
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