World Animal Protection launches free online game about the harmful impact of ghost gear on marine animals

GHOST GEAR DODGE puts players in the body of a dolphin trying to traverse the perils of discarded fishing gear in our oceans

News provided by

World Animal Protection

Jun 10, 2015, 10:15 ET

NEW YORK, June 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, World Animal Protection launched its first online game – GHOST GEAR DODGE - aimed at educating and engaging people to make a Sea Change for marine animals and create safer, cleaner oceans. According to UN agencies, some 640,000 tons of fishing gear are lost or discarded in our oceans every year. This 'ghost gear' has a devastating effect on marine animals, injuring, entangling, and killing millions of seals, whales, turtles, seabirds, and other species.

"We wanted to offer an educational tool that will help inform people about this issue and create a wider movement of people seeking change for the oceans and the animals that live in them," said Priscilla Ma, U.S. Executive Director of World Animal Protection. "As people become the dolphin in the game's story, they must dodge some of the most common types of ghost fishing gear that affect the welfare of marine animals, including abandoned, lost or discarded fishing pots, traps and nets."

GHOST GEAR DODGE includes key factoids about the ghost gear problem and its impact on animals; these are shown during the game when the dolphin collides with ghost gear. Players are encouraged to share the game on their personal social media pages, join the Sea Change movement to see how they can activate their local communities, or donate to help World Animal Protection reduce and remove ghost gear and rescue entangled animals.

How to play GHOST GEAR DODGE:

Visit http://ghostgear.worldanimalprotection.org and play on your computer or your mobile phone
Click/tap to swim up & release to swim down to avoid getting caught in ghost gear
Sign up at the end of the game to learn more about Sea Change initiatives happening locally and share the game with your family and friends to help build the Sea Change movement

World Animal Protection's Sea Change Campaign aims to save one million marine animals from the impact of ghost gear by 2018.

Note to editors:

High-resolution images available upon request
For more information on World Animal Protection's Sea Change campaign, visit www.worldanimalprotection.us.org/seachange.

About ghost gear
Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear – known as 'ghost' gear – is found in every ocean and sea on the planet. It continues to fish indiscriminately, killing millions of marine animals every year, including seals, dolphins, whales, turtles and birds. It destroys marine habitats and costs governments and marine industries millions of dollars in clean-up costs and lost revenue each year. Made mostly of plastic, this phantom menace will persist in our oceans for centuries.

About World Animal Protection
World Animal Protection, formerly known as the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), is active in more than 50 countries. From our offices around the world, we work with businesses, governments, local partners and animal welfare organizations. We help people to find practical ways to prevent animal suffering worldwide. We collaborate with national governments, and we have formal relationships with international bodies including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Council of Europe and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). We seek national and international policy change to improve the lives of millions of animals, because animal protection is a fundamental part of a sustainable future.

Contact: Carla Pisarro
E: [email protected]
T: 1-646-783-2210

SOURCE World Animal Protection