Nature & Environment

Japan's Ice Skating Rink Was Forced To Close Down; Thousands Of Dead Fish Were Found

Alex Davis
First Posted: Nov 30, 2016 04:00 AM EST

In Japan, it is common to have an amusement park. However, one park was forced to close because of people's negative feedback. Thousands of fish were found frozen and dead inside the aquarium.

In southwest Japan, in the city of Kitakyushu, Space World was forced to close the facility on Sunday after a campaign online. The people called them as immoral, cruel and weird.

The ice rink was supposed to stay open up until spring time. It featured 5,000 dead sprats, mackerel and other fish and other fish that were bought from a local market. The dead fish were embedded in the ice.

Some of the dead fish were used to spell out the word "hello." Some were also under the ice forming an arrow that shows the skaters which way to go.

In some parts of the ice rink, whale sharks and rays were also found. But, the park pointed out that it was an enlarged photo that had been placed inside the ice.

The Facebook page of Space World was flooded with complaints and called for it to be shut down. Thousands of people were giving them negative comments.

One of the Facebook comment was that the park was "disrespectful of life." Others said that it was showing "appalling lack of morality."

The Space World website said that the Ice Aquarium is an opportunity for visitors to "glide across the sea" in what it called the first attraction of its kind in the world. But on Sunday, the park announced that it will close down.

The general manager of Space World, Toshimi Takeda, said that "We had intended to give the feel of the ocean to this ice skating rink, with the image of fish swimming in the ocean. We intended to make visitors have fun and learn more about fish," as reported in The Washington Post

They also said that "We deeply apologize to people who felt uncomfortable about the Ice Aquarium event. As a result, we have stopped the event from today."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson told Asahi Shimbun that the parks will consider holding a memorial service for the dead fish next year. In addition, the spokesperson said that the fish was already dead when they bought them from the local market.

According to The Guardian, the spokesperson also shared that, "Misunderstandings spread on the internet that the fish were frozen while they were still alive, but that was not the case. We should have explained more." 

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