Live animal key chains being legally sold in China

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Over the weekend, I was scrolling through my Tumblr when I came across a rather disturbing video. The video showed small aquatic animals, such as turtles, salamanders and fish, helplessly squirming around in sealed plastic bags.

I was completely appalled by this. Who in their right mind would ever buy or sell such a thing? However, upon further research, I found that they’re the latest must haves in China, where people are lining up to buy these terrible trinkets from vendors, selling them out of coolers near the entrances of subway stations.

The bags these poor animals are being held captive in contain colored water, infused with crystallized oxygen and other nutrients. The ingredients in the water can supposedly keep the animals alive for up to two months, when in reality, they’re really only living a maximum lifespan of two days, due to a lack of oxygen.

Animal rights activists are furious with these cruel key chains, and have started numerous petitions to ban them. Unfortunately, they are completely legal in China, where there is only a wild animal protection law, in which these animals don’t apply. This has many people questioning the country’s animal protection laws, and has them wanting an official national animal protection law put in place.

Perhaps the most putrid part of this whole situation is that it’s rumored that customers are being encouraged to microwave the deceased animals for a mere 15 seconds, before eating them as a snack. This is an outrageous form of animal abuse that needs to be stopped as soon as possible.
If you would like to help try and ban these horrible key chains, you can sign the petition, at:

http://forcechange.com/16023/stop-the-use-of-living-creatures-in-key-chains/

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