Japanese ice rink freezes 5000 fish in bizarre attraction

Uproar over 'sinful' Japanese skating rink that froze 5,000 dead FISH in the ice forces attraction to close Space World was slammed as 'sinful' for using 'creatures as toys' Dead fish considered 'unfit' for consumption were frozen below the ice Ice rink will be melted and a memorial with a priest held for the dead fish A Japanese skating rink that froze 5,000 dead fish into the ice as an attraction for visitors has been forced to close after receiving a barrage of criticism, with one labelling the attraction 'sinful'. Amusement park Space World is now melting the rink - which could take about a week - and will hold a memorial service for the fish, the company said. The rink in southwestern Japan opened on November 12, after 5,000 fish were frozen under the surface of the ice as a decorative effect while customers skated above. But the concept was slammed as unethical and the rink in the city of Kitakyushu was forced to close on Sunday, Space World spokesman Koji Shibata said. 'We received critical voices saying it is not good to use creatures as a toy, and that it is bad to let food go to waste,' he told AFP on Monday. Social media erupted, with one visitor to the park's Facebook page writing: 'An event on an ice rink with frozen fish... How sinful.' 'This is not personal but a social issue. They made food into a toy where children go and play,' said another. Shibata said the fish were all already dead at the time of purchase and were considered unfit to be sold in markets 'Internally we'd had discussions over the morality of the idea' before the display was set up,' he said. Toshimi Takeda, general manager of Space World, said the intention was for customers to have fun while also learning about fish. 'We wanted customers to experience the feeling of skating on the sea, but after receiving criticism, we decided that we could not operate it any more', he said. 'We are planning to hold a memorial service for the fish inviting a Shinto priest, which we'd planned before getting criticised.' A theme park in Japan has faced a barrage of criticism over its new display - thousands of fish frozen into an ice rink. Space World in Kitakyushu, south-west Japan , was forced to close the attraction on Sunday, despite only opening it earlier this month as an “attraction never heard about”. Around 25 different species of fish, including dead sprats, mackerel and huge rays had been bought from a market and then embedded in the ice, some suspended with their mouths open. Originally intended to stay open until the spring, the "Ice Aquarium" closed after hundreds of people denounced it on Facebook as being "truly disgustingly stupid”, "cruel" and “animal abuse”. Some of the fish had even been arranged to spell the word “hello” under the ice, while others were shaped to form an arrow showing skaters which direction to go. The park’s website had marketed the attraction as “enabling visitors to go for a slide on the ice of 5,000 frozen fish”, claiming it was a world first. Skating rink with 5,000 dead fish spelling out "Hello" under ice closes as public criticise 'cruel' stunt The park touted the new attraction as a 'world first' but now has had to apologise - and will even hold a memorial service for the dead fish Anger as Japanese skating rink freezes thousands of fish into ice as gimmick