PETA is trying to reel in the City of Eufaula to participate in a fish amnesty campaign this month. The animal rights group is asking the City to display the "Fish Empathy Quilt" in memory of Leroy Brown.
The fish, which died nearly 45 years ago, already has its own monument in downtown Eufaula that reads, "Most Bass Are Just Fish." Leroy Brown was much more than "just a fish."
Legend has it that another legend, Tom Mann, caught Leroy Brown when he was a small but feisty largemouth bass. Mann kept him in a tank at Tom Mann's Fish World, and he grew bigger every year. People from all over would come to catch a glimpse of Leroy Brown. But in 1980, when the fish was seven years old, he crossed over the Rainbow Bridge…if there is such a thing for fish.
The late Mann previously said he was devastated when the fish went bottoms-up. He said he felt like he had lost a family member. Apparently, he wasn't the only one upset. Hundreds of people flocked to Eufaula to pay their respects to Leroy and his contribution to the sport of exhibition.
Through the years, people have continued to honor the memory of Leroy Brown. Now, PETA is asking Mayor Jack B. Tibbs Jr. to honor him on Fish Amnesty Day, which is September 28.
If Eufaula agrees to be the next stop for the quilt, PETA promised to deliver "delicious fish-free meals" and bring its very own mascot, Tiffany Tuna, to town.
"While PETA doesn't doubt that Leroy was special, every fish is a unique individual who feels pain and fear and values their own life just as much as the angler trying to hook them values theirs," says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O'Brien. "PETA hopes Eufaula will embrace the kind message of this quilt and help tip the scales toward compassion for the billions of aquatic animals killed each year in the fishing industry."
The quilt is more than 300 square feet.
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