‘Let Me Go, Petco’ Ad Shines a Spotlight on Plight of Betta Fish

New PETA Billboard Calls On Chain to Pull the Plug on Irresponsible Sales of Betta Fish

For Immediate Release:
February 21, 2019

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

As part of its campaign urging Petco to stop selling betta fish, PETA has placed a billboard across the street from the pet-supply store on 43^rd Street S. in Fargo that shows a fish staring out sadly from inside a stark fishbowl alongside the words “Let Me Go, Petco. Betta Fish Suffer in Tiny Bowls.”

The ad is located at 4305 13^th Ave. S.W. in Fargo and will remain up for one month.

“As long as Petco continues to treat betta fish like mere merchandise, customers will continue to discover dead or dying bettas floating in cramped cups of water on the chain’s shelves,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Petco to end its cruel sales of these complex animals.”

PETA’s investigations of the pet trade have revealed that individual bettas are confined to tiny bags inside boxes that are stacked on top of one another in massive wholesale warehouses. The fish are often starved for several days during the transportation process, and many die before or during shipment to retailers, which can take days. In addition, people who buy them are often misled into believing that they should be housed alone, leading to solitary confinement for these fish, who would coexist peacefully with others in the wild.

PETA, whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way,” points out that Rite Aid and Walgreens confirmed that they’ll no longer sell Teddy Tanks—stuffed animals that have cramped, barren fish tanks in the middle—and Kimpton Hotels recently ended its “rent-a-fish” program.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.