They are latching onto the supposed environmental concern as a rhetorical strategy; they don’t actually care about animals or the environment, as you rightly noted. Their goal is to seed doubt. We can see the same strategy deployed in other instances.
kyl3_m_r34v35 t1_j9lamet wrote
Reply to comment by Fallen_Mercury in Whale deaths exploited in 'cynical disinformation' campaign against offshore wind power, advocates say by hypoboxer
They are latching onto the supposed environmental concern as a rhetorical strategy; they don’t actually care about animals or the environment, as you rightly noted. Their goal is to seed doubt. We can see the same strategy deployed in other instances.