Actresses Magdalena Rózczka and Julia Pietrucha, along with chef Robert Maklowicz, will join Klub Gaja as celebrity ambassadors in this year’s “Carp is still alive” campaign to stop pre-Christmas cruelty to this popular holiday treat in Poland.
“Carp is still alive” is one of the oldest consumer targeted campaigns of Klub Gaja, an environmental organization and FISH partner in Poland, and from year to year it attracts more and more celebrity ambassadors. This year Magdalena Rózczka, Julia Pietrucha and Robert Maklowicz, will join Klub Gaja to promote humanitarian treatment of carp before it lands on Polish Christmas plates. The theme for 2010 is “Carp from ice” promoting the technique of freezing as a humane treatment of carp before it lands on the Christmas table.
Pre-Christmas sale of live carp is a festive frenzy in Poland, and the fish are often killed by being placed in a plastic bag without water or oxygen, causing slow and painful death. About one year ago, on the impetus of Klub Gaja, the Polish government passed an amendment to the Animal Protection Law (Article 2) to include the protection of fish.
This Year Klub Gaja is organizing a postcard action within the campaign, targeting District Veterinary Officers with a plea to stop the unnecessary suffering of the carp by promoting its humane treatment during transport and later on during sales. According to Jacek Bozek, Head of Klub Gaja, “fish are the same creatures as a dog or a cat, they all suffer if they are not given proper conditions. Carp is often subjected to dirty water in the tank, too little space, incompetent harvesting and packaging, and finally it is killed alive by being placed in a plastic bag which is the cause of extreme stress and agony for the animal”.
Since fish are now protected under the Article 2 of the Animal Protection Act any of the following violations can be reported to a district veterinarian clinic, police, or municipal police with a request for inspection:
- Packing live fish into plastic bags without water and without oxygen supply
- Keeping too many fish in the same tank
- Keeping fish in dirty water with temperatures set too high
- Inhuman killings performed by untrained sellers. The owners of the shops and marketplaces should be informed of how it should be done first
And this is some advice for consumers, from Klub Gaja:
- Do not purchase live fish wrapped in plastic – without water or oxygen they suffocate and die in agony,
- If you see too many fish in small tanks – don’t accept it.
- Make your comments heard by informing the district veterinarian, municipal police, or the police. Please inform Klub Gaja as well.
- Buy fish from the ice to limit their suffering during transport.
- Send a petition to the shop owners.
- Send a postcard to your veterinarian.