Taiwan bans catching goldfish at night markets

台灣禁止在夜市捕撈金魚

Animal Welfare Act now prohibits using animals as gifts or prizes, some game operators switch to plastic fish


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Council of Agriculture (COA) announced draft amendments to the Animal Welfare Act prohibiting vendors from exchanging animals for gifts in the name of games and entertainment, per UDN.

A common sight in many Taiwan night markets are stalls offering visitors the chance to scoop goldfish with paddles made from rice paper. The activity is also popular in Japan, where the paddle is called “poi” and participants must plot every move as rice paper tears easily.

In Japan, as in Taiwan, children and adults are able to take home the goldfish they catch or exchange them for toys. At local Taiwanese night markets, a half-dozen poi paddles can cost NT$200 (US$6) and players are only able to take home about one-quarter of the fish caught, or engage in an exchange similar to 10 smaller fish for one larger goldfish.

On occasion, night market stalls also have a game where poi paddles can be used to catch turtles, though the weight of the turtles often makes this game an exercise in futility. Parents should be warned that caring for turtles is not easy, requiring constant cleaning of tanks.

Games involving prawns are also popular in Taiwan night markets, though these take place with a more traditional pole and a hook at the end. Prawns are usually exchanged for gifts as they are more difficult to transport and raise at home.

Each of these fishing games is now a thing of the past with the COA imposing a maximum fine of NT$250,000 (US$8,120) for offenders.

Taichung Daqing and Hanxi Night Market Management Director Tsai Ming-hsun (蔡明訓) says animal protection awareness has risen in recent years with night markets under his management beginning to reduce the number of animal-related vendors 4 years ago.

At present, there is only one stall offering goldfish related games, though this stall has transitioned to plastic fish to keep on the right side of the law.

Tsai said he would fully cooperate with the law and lead the night market committee to reject vendors who harm animals.

One visitor to the nightmarket, surnamed Wu (吳), said it was important to respect all forms of life and he had no problem switching to plastic fish or even floating balls, as the fun of the fishing game would remain the same.