PETA Statement: Stingray Touch Tanks Are a Dangerous Business

For Immediate Release:
October 6, 2016

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Foundation Associate Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Rachel Mathews in response to the latest incident in which a child was bitten by a stingray at Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park in Litchfield Park, Arizona—this time, it happened to a 4-year-old on Tuesday:

This isn’t the first time that a captive wild animal has bitten and injured a child, and there is no reason to believe that it will be the last. Touch tanks pose an even deadlier danger to the sensitive aquatic animals inside them, who are unable to escape a constant onslaught of groping hands that dirty the water and pollute it with bacteria. In addition, a single malfunction or mistake could suffocate or poison dozens of animals in one go. PETA is calling on everyone to follow this 4-year-old’s lead by swearing off touch tanks for good.

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment.” For more information, please visit PETA.org.