‘Betta Fish’ to Tell Petco: ‘Selling Us is Killing Us. Stop!’
PETA Protest Will Call On Chain to Pull the Plug on Irresponsible Sales of Betta Fish
For Immediate Release:
October 26, 2018
Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382
What: On Saturday, a school of “betta fish” will descend on a Petco store in the company’s hometown of San Diego to protest the notorious pet store chain’s sale of betta fish in tiny plastic containers stacked on top of one another and its irresponsible promotion of the complex aquatic animals as decorations to “brighten up the office.”
When: Saturday, October 27, 12 noon
Where: 3495 Sports Arena Blvd. (near the intersection with East Drive), San Diego
PETA’s investigation of the pet trade has revealed that betta fish are often starved for several days during the transport process and that individual bettas are confined to tiny bags in boxes that are stacked up in massive wholesale warehouses. Many fish die before and during shipment to retailers, which can take days. In addition, people who buy bettas are often misled into believing that they should be housed alone, leading to solitary confinement for these fish, who would coexist with others in the wild.
“Petco customers regularly discover dead, sick, or injured bettas floating in tiny cups of filthy water on the chain’s shelves,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Petco to stop selling these complex animals.”
PETA (whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”) points out that Rite Aid and Walgreens confirmed that they will no longer sell Teddy Tanks—stuffed animals with tiny barren fish tanks in their stomachs— and Kimpton Hotels recently ended its “rent-a-fish” program.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
