Live Animals in Keychains

These people take low to a whole new level.

It should be no surprise now that the new “trend” in China is buying live animal keychains, especially in Xiamen.

These “pet keychains” are being sold as souvenirs and attract the attention of tourists and passers-by, where they attach them on their bags, keys, or mobile phones. One such keychain is sold for 15 to 20 yuan ($3 to $4 SGD).

This has many animal activist groups outraged but despite several online petitions signed to push the government to make this disgusting and cruel trend illegal in China, these keychains are still on sale in markets around the country.

Qin Xiaona, director of the NGO Capital Animal Welfare Association, stated that “China only has a Wild Animal Protection Law. If the animals are not wild animals they fall outside the law’s scope.”

There has been a rise in animal activism in China but most of the animal rescue groups focus primarily on dogs and cats.

Tourists can choose a range of animals as their “pets”, including baby terrapins, fishes, salamanders, and even frogs, which are sealed inside small airtight plastic pouches filled with bright fluorescent oxygenated water and they are left with a single pellet which serves as food.

The animals are confined in the small plastic pouch where they have limited room to move and the terrapins are not even able to turn around. Store vendors told tourists that the animals are able to live up to three months and do not need to be fed as the water contains nutrients.

Of course, animal activists have condemned the keychains as cruel, as the animals will either die due to lack of oxygen or lack of food. But if that does not kill them first, the physical shock of being shaken around and the tremendous stress of being snatched away from the natural habitat and placed in a small confined space, will.

Ecohydrology professor Sam Walton says that "Aquatic animals are very sensitive to temperature fluctuations so being in a bag is like being in a greenhouse. The temperature shock and physical shock of being shaken around will probably kill the animals before anything else."

He also adds that "There might be enough oxygen and food in the plastic casing but the animal waste from digestion and respiration is toxic and will kill them. They essentially poison themselves with ammonia."

Unfortunately, this is not the first time innocent animals have been used to satisfy the vanity of misinformed and mislead customers.

In South America, living beetles are covered in gems and worn as brooches, a decorative jewellery item designed to be attached to garments. And earlier in 2017, a watch company revealed a watch filled with live ants. But after receiving public backlash from all around the world, the company said it was meant as an early April Fool’s joke.