Live Animals Are Being Stuck Inside Tiny Plastic Keychains In China And Sold As Jewelry

#1

There are many different ways that humans have abused animals for their entertainment. From putting them in circuses to riding on their backs for entertainment, we have come up with countless ways to use animals for our amusement at their expense.

However, it has recently been revealed that a shocking trend in China has taken this to a new level, and it's been going on for years. That is, the trend of keeping live animals in key chains as jewelry.

#2

This is an issue that CNN reported on back in 2011, however, the trend has still been going strong ever since, and little has been done to stop it. They found that small fish, turtles, and other amphibians are being sold in small, plastic pouches by street vendors while they are still alive.

#3

One of these live animal-filled pouches costs only around $1.50, and provides the animal with just barely enough room to squirm around. According to the vendors selling these "trinkets", the pouches are filled with a clear or colored oxygenated water that provides the animals with nutrients.

#4

However, the animals can only survive in a few days in the pouch and will die if the customer does not release it early enough, something that they are not obligated to do.

#5

These live animal pouches have caused outrage among animal activists in Asia and worldwide. Many of them have pointed towards the lack of animal protection laws in China to be the reason this is so prevalent.

#6

This use of animals as jewelry is not unique to China, however. Encrusting live beetles in precious jewels and wearing them as broaches is a common practice in Mexico. Wearers then attach these live beetles to their clothing using either chains or clothespins.

#7

One vendor selling the animals outside of a Beijing subway station told CNN that the bag contained crystallized oxygen and nutrients.

She said that that the animals could live for days but also warned that they should be freed from the bag as soon as the air ran out or they would suffocate.

#8

The live trinkets have been condemned by animal rights groups who have highlighted the lack of animal protection laws in China.

"Lack of food and diminishing oxygen concentrations within both the water and the small amount of air in these plastic pouches will cause the animals to die in a relatively short period of time after the pouches are sealed," said David Neale, animal welfare director of Animals Asia.

"If a national animal protection law was enacted in China, such acts of cruelty could be prevented, and those who persist in causing harm and suffering to animals within their care could be prosecuted."

#9

Neale also warned that keeping a turtle in a bag and then as a pet could have health implications for people.

"Individuals should also be aware of the potential human health risks associated with being in close contact with animals such as turtles. Turtles frequently carry salmonella bacteria that can cause serious illness," he said.