THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 5, 1996 TAG: 9609050394
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: FISHKILL, N.Y. LENGTH: 34 lines
A Norfolk-based animal rights group says this Hudson Valley village has a cruel name and might do well to change it to something more compassionate, like Fishsave.
Mayor George Carter won't take the bait.
``I'm not going to change the name of Fishkill. It's been such a long, outstanding name,'' Carter said Wednesday.
The animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, asked Carter in a letter last month to consider changing Fishkill's name. But the mayor noted Wednesday that the name has stood since the late 1600s.
Fishkill, about 65 miles north of New York City, traces its name to the region's original Dutch settlers. ``Kill'' translates to ``stream'' in Dutch.
``I think if they would look the word up, they would find out what it means,'' Carter said.
PETA said most people aren't aware of the name's origins, and instead associate Fishkill with the slaughter of fish.
The push for a name change is part of PETA's latest campaign, the ``Save Our Schools'' anti-fishing crusade, Davey Shepherd said Wednesday.
``Fish are able to feel pain, and therefore to use them for your enjoyment is wrong,'' Shepherd said.
The Hudson Valley is dotted with towns, villages and streams with names ending in the Dutch suffix ``kill.'' The village of Catskill and the nearby Catskill Mountains aren't being targeted for a name change, despite their feline connotations, Shepherd said.
KEYWORDS: PETA by CNB