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Goldfish to serve as water purity indicators at South Korea’s G20 summit
Image by Lachlan Donald (source: Flickr)
I can’t really believe it, but South Korea is going to use goldfish to make sure toilet water is clean at this week’s G20 summit taking place in the country.
Six goldfish will be placed in the water tanks supplying water to the toilets, to make sure the water is pure and harmless for the G20 summit participants.
When I heard the news I was sure animal welfare organizations would take a stand against this, and indeed they have. PETA has expressed concerns about the plans stating that protecting world leaders is important, but should not be at the cost of innocent animals. According to the animal welfare organization, goldfish feel pain just as others animals do. The agony the fish go through in contaminated water is not to be underestimated.
I’m against animal cruelty so I agree with PETA on this one. I think there are equally good ways to test water for purity that don’t involve exposing fish to potentially harmful contaminated water. One might agree that six fish won’t make the difference, and that much worse happens to animals all over the world. Obviously, this is true. But then again, it is our world leaders who should show us the way into a less cruel world; in which humans, animals and nature enjoy the same basic rights and protection, tiny goldfish included!
Tags: animal welfare, clean water, G20, G20 summit, goldfish, PETA, South Korea, suffering goldfish, toilet water
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Cruel and ridiculous. Sometimes (or often) I can’t believe the level of stupidity in human beings :S