A Hong Kong aquarium has been criticised for selling fish “tattooed” with the Chinese words “Get Rich” for the Lunar New Year.
Pictures of the marked fish in a Tai Po shop were circulated on social media on Sunday, causing outrage among animal lovers and Hong Kong netizens.
Chinese people traditionally eat seafood and buy fish (which sounds like the word for “surplus” in Chinese) in an attempt to promote prosperity for the new year.
Jack Kwan, a biochemist at the University of Hong Kong, told Sky Post that the chemical pigments used on the fish could erode their scales and cause skin disease.
Chong Dee-hwa from the Ichthyological Society of Hong Kong added that the Get Rich fish may be vulnerable to attacks in the tank because of their unfamiliar look.
An employee at the shop apparently told a reporter that the words were carved into the fish by laser beam and that they would fade in time.
He added that the fish were imported from the mainland and had been available for several years.
Source: EJI
Photo: Sky Post
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