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| A man puts trout in his T-shirt after catching it barehanded at Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, Sunday. / Yonhap |
By Kim Rahn
Public awareness on animal rights has been growing in the country, with more people campaigning against animal abuse.
Starting with pets like dogs and cats then moving to wild animals, now it has extended to fish.
Several petitions have been posted on Cheong Wa Dae's website calling for the abolishment of fishing festivals or at least an improvement of the programs, which they labeled as mere "slaughter."
The main target is the Hwacheon Sancheoneo (trout) Ice Festival, which has become one of the most popular winter festivals drawing more than 1.5 million visitors every year. This year's edition, which started on Jan. 5, is nearing its end on Jan. 27.
"The Sancheoneo festival finishes only when 760,000 fish die only for human beings' fun," one petitioner wrote. "For humans, it is a festival, but for the trout, it is massacre and abuse."
Catching fish at the festivals is not in violation of the Animal Protection Law, but it does not mean the fish mobilized for the festivals are not abused, the petitioner claimed. "Many festivals run barehanded fishing programs, and some participants take photos of them holding the fish by their teeth, or of bleeding fish. Many bring children, and the children are likely to become insensitive to others' pain and lack a sense of respecting life."
The petitioner called on the government to set up guidelines on animal welfare at festivals. "I'm not insisting people not eat or catch fish at all. I'm urging people not to abuse fish only to entertain themselves, and to maintain minimum respect of other animal species," the person said.
On Jan. 5 when the Hwacheon festival opened, five animal rights groups also held a press conference at the festival venue to call on the festival organizer to review the programs and change them into ecological ones that respect life.
After seeing the small Gangwon provincial county of Hwacheon with 27,000 residents draws such a large number of tourists, many other towns are following suit, coming up with different fishing events. According to a report from a research team led by Seoul National University veterinary medicine professor Chun Myung-sun, there were 86 festivals themed with animals nationwide between 2013 and 2015. In most of them, the animals ― mostly fish ― are caught barehanded or in angling and eaten.
