Cresta Shopping Centre have announced that they will be building a massive indoor aquarium but South Africa think the people who thought of the idea, should be placed in it instead.
Cresta Shopping Centre, in the heart of Johannesburg, have just announced that they will be building a massive indoor aquarium that will be opening in 2019 but their social media feeds (on Facebook and Twitter) have been inundated with disgust… and this is where we find the good news!
Even though the idea had somehow been signed off by what we assume is a large pool of people (marketing, planning, research and management), ordinary South Africans are educating the mall that perhaps this isn’t their best idea.
Phillipa Mitchell posted: “Will the stupidity of humanity ever end? Can you imagine these poor sea creatures going out of their minds while children (and probably adults too) bash on the glass. Can we not leave the sea life where it belongs, in the ocean? Surely there is something kinder to the environment and the sea life that you can put in instead? If this goes ahead, you can be certain that I will never set foot inside your mall again.Please consider other options. This is not cool at all and I am deeply saddened by this news.”
Paula Plit added: “This is absolutely wrong on so many levels!!! You are kidding??? Total and utter Animal exploitation!! You will not have me or any family member of mine visit Cresta ever again if you do this! My word!!!”
Marion Vlooi Hart commented: “This is a great idea! But instead of the marine life, let’s put the people who thought of this brilliant plan in the glass cages instead. It will be highly educational on how not to be a human and exploit animals.”
Cresta have responded to the social media discussion and posted the statement below in the thread, but have been inundated with negative backlash.
“We acknowledge and appreciate everyone’s concerns and opinions and want to be transparent with our shoppers throughout this process. Our hope for the Aquarium is that it will exist as an educational experience for our shoppers, especially those who have not had the opportunity to experience marine life before. We also intend to educate the public on sea life including education around littering, over fishing and global warming of our oceans.
We are working closely with Marine Specialists on this project who are ensuring that the selected fish and inhabitants will exist in a stress free environment. The aquarium team has also ensured that the aquarium’s size allows the fish to move freely in a large space and the coral and rocks offer quieter locations for the fish to rest. Please be assured that disease prevention, temperature control and live monitoring systems will be built into the aquarium to monitor it 24/7, 365 days a year, to ensure a safe and healthy environment for the fish. We are happy to address any questions that you might have.”
Good Things Guy was tagged in the posts and the idea didn’t sit well with us either. We don’t know much about public aquariums (it’s not our forte) but we believe in doing what is good and what it right and love the fact that South Africans are standing up, and against the idea.
We did a bit of research and found quite a lot of information about public aquariums on both National Geographic and PETA‘s websites and it seems that the reality is that public aquariums are not all they are made out to be.
“Imagine that you’re enjoying life with your family and friends, until one day someone comes and takes you away from them. Your captors keep you jailed inside a glass box and give you food that you’re not used to eating. The air in the box is different than the air you’re used to breathing at home and it makes you sick. Groups of people pass by and stare at you through the glass, every day for years on end, but no one ever helps you escape.
That sounds a lot like a nightmare or a horror movie, doesn’t it? Well, for countless animals trapped in aquariums, that nightmare is a reality.”
PETA have many reasons as to why aquariums are actually “just wrong” but we’ve found 4 that make sense and would help to raise awareness:
1. They Tear Families Apart
In the wild, many schools of fish often spend their entire lives with their mothers and siblings but aquariums give little thought to animals’ well-being and some steal them away from their loved ones.
Aquariums that breed animals in captivity aren’t any better. Animals born into captivity are condemned to a life of misery in tanks and often have to endure the stress of being taken away from their mothers and shipped to different facilities.
2. Aquariums Don’t Benefit Animals
Many aquariums operate under the guise of helping animals but in fact, aquariums often do the exact opposite of helping animals. Studies show that 90 percent of public aquariums house animals who demonstrate stereotypic neurotic behavior. This means they’re driven insane in captivity and often pace back and forth, bob their heads, or circle their enclosures for hours on end.
3. Animals Suffer
Not only does being held in captivity cause animals mental stress, it’s also physically damaging to the animals. In the recent Sea-world narrative, it has been found that the chlorine and copper sulfate used to keep tanks clean has caused dolphins’ skin to peel off and may cause dolphins and seals to go blind.
If that’s not wrong, we don’t know what is.
Many marine mammals suffer from peptic ulcers, which are caused by the frustration of captivity and often result in death.
4. They’re Not Educational
People in the industry often claim that aquariums exist to educate the public about animals. But when you think about it, all they really do is teach the wrong message that it’s acceptable to keep animals in captivity, where they’re bored, cramped, lonely, and far from their native homes—just for human amusement. How can that possibly be considered educational?
From an animal rights perspective, keeping animals in captivity for our own use is an infringement on that animal’s right to be free of human exploitation, regardless of how well the animals are treated.
There are some people who doubt the sentience of fish and other sea creatures. This is an important issue because the rights of animals are based on sentience – the ability to suffer. But studies have shown that fish, crabs, and shrimp do feel pain. What about anemones, jellyfish and other animals with simpler nervous systems? While it’s debatable whether a jellyfish or anemone can suffer, it is clear that crabs, fish, penguins and marine mammals do feel pain, are sentient and are therefore deserving of rights.
What You Can Do
We’re hoping the Shopping Centre listens to concerned South Africans, and we will keep you updated as to what they do! But in the mean time, if you are on the side of animals, and don’t believe in ideas like this then you can help terrorized animals “trapped in prisons” by explaining to your friends and families why they should avoid aquariums, too.
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I’m thinking Cresta makes to much money but why not donate the aquarium money to the poor.Then they do something Good.