UncommonGoods Ends Fish Tank Sales

PETA to Send Online Retailer a Box of Fish-Shaped Vegan Chocolates in Thanks for Compassionate Move

For Immediate Release:
January 17, 2019

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Shortly after PETA shared that betta fish suffer and die in the pet trade, as revealed in a video exposé, online retailer UncommonGoods agreed to ban the sale of fish tanks on its site. In thanks, PETA will send the Brooklyn-based company a box of fish-shaped vegan chocolates.

“I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 11 years old, which has informed our ethics from day one,” says UncommonGoods founder and CEO David Bolotsky. “My view is that we should always strive to have a better impact on people, animals, and the planet. When PETA approached us about no longer selling a fish tank, it was an easy decision to drop the item and agree not to offer fish tanks going forward.”

PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman adds, “UncommonGoods already had a policy against selling leather, fur, feathers, and other materials that animals suffer and die for, so the company’s quick decision to ban the sale of fish tanks is right in line with its ethics. PETA will call on other retailers to follow UncommonGoods’ compassionate example.”

UncommonGoods’ other animal-friendly policies include never including meat in photographs displayed on its site, in its catalog, or in its marketing materials as well as never selling products made of angora wool, mohair, badger hair, or pearls.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that fish communicate, form bonds, grieve, and are capable of experiencing fear, pain, and stress. But in the pet trade, they’re transported from dealers to pet stores inside tiny bags and containers that bear no resemblance to their natural habitats. Many die in transit.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.