Stag Beetle and Crayfish Fishing Event Held
Halted After Controversy... "Clearly Animal Abuse"
Scene of fishing for stag beetles at an unusual animal pop-up store held at a large shopping mall in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Thread capture.
A controversy has arisen over an event at an unusual animal pop-up store in a large shopping mall in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, where participants used fishing rods to scoop up live stag beetles.
According to the retail industry on February 20, Company A, which runs a reptile exhibition business, has been operating a pop-up store on the first basement floor of this shopping mall since February 12.
On site, not only reptiles such as lizards and snakes but also various animals including hamsters and stag beetles were displayed, confined in small plastic containers or glass cases.
The contentious part is the "fishing experience." The company allowed participants to fish for insects and other creatures in a circular pool using small fishing rods with balls attached, charging an experience fee of 6,000 won for stag beetles and 10,000 won for crayfish. To take the animals home, participants had to pay an additional 20,000 won.
Since the event began on February 12, social media (SNS) has been flooded with criticism that this clearly constitutes animal abuse.
A Threads post that received more than 900 likes condemned the event along with a video of the experience, asking, "If this is not animal abuse, then what is it?" The video shows several people each using a fishing rod to catch stag beetles, with one beetle barely hanging onto the ball and desperately flailing.
Comments under the post included criticisms such as, "When I shook the fishing rod, the stag beetle bounced off and flew away," "It feels like they are teaching children to abuse animals," and "It is also a problem that small rodents are displayed in cases that look like they are meant for 'Dujjonku (Dubai chewy cookies).'"
As the controversy grew, the shopping mall explained that Company A became aware of the issue and voluntarily halted the fishing experience starting on February 16.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Cho Heekyung, head of Animal Freedom Korea, pointed out, "Regardless of whether it is legally punishable, acts that inflict pain on living beings or turn them into a source of entertainment clearly have the nature of animal abuse," adding, "It is particularly problematic because it can instill a distorted perception of life in children."
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