Live fish thrown on the ground at rally... Police apply "animal cruelty" to fish for the first time

Throwing Japanese Yellowtail and Red Sea Bream
Association Says "Government's Import of Live Japanese Fish Causes Economic Damage to Fishermen"

Live fish. Not related to the article. /Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The police have decided to apply charges of 'animal cruelty' to a group that threw live fish onto the ground during a rally. This is the first time that investigative authorities have recognized animal cruelty against fish.

The Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul announced on the 17th that last November, they referred officials from the Gyeongnam Fishery Association who held a rally with association members in front of the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, and threw live Japanese amberjack and red sea bream, to the prosecution on charges of violating the Animal Protection Act.

At the time, the association staged a 'live fish throwing' protest, claiming that the government's import of live Japanese fish caused significant economic damage to domestic fishermen, and they also distributed packaged domestic live fish to citizens.

In response, the animal protection group 'Animal Liberation Wave' viewed this act as a violation of the Animal Protection Act due to cruelty to live fish and filed a complaint with the police in December last year. Their argument was that using live fish as tools for the rally rather than for consumption constitutes animal cruelty.

The Animal Protection Act applies to vertebrates with developed nervous systems capable of feeling pain, including mammals, birds, and fish. It prohibits harming animals' bodies in a live state to abuse them, but if the purpose is for consumption, it is not considered cruelty.

The police judged that the association's act of throwing live fish solely for use in the rally violated the Animal Protection Act and referred the case to the prosecution in March. At the prosecution's request, supplementary investigations were completed at the end of July.

Meanwhile, killing animals in public places or causing death without justifiable reason can result in up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.