A goldfish stands guard this week in a tank at the G-20 summit in Seoul, South Korea.
Security officials at the Group of 20 summit in Seoul, South Korea, have deployed 50,000 police and soldiers, plus an elite water security unit: six goldfish.
Security officials placed six goldfish inside a tank supplying toilet water to the conference, the Mirror of London, England, reported. The officials will watch the fish for signs of illness or poisoning in an effort to protect the conferees, according to the Mirror.
An animal rights group is up in arms over the use of the finned defenders.
"There are a variety of modern scientific methods that would better protect world leaders and keep fish from enduring agonizing deaths from contaminated water," Tracy Reiman, executive vice president for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote in a letter to conference organizers.
"After all, the fish cannot tell you specifically what might be wrong with the water," she added.
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I fail to see the use of these fish unless some of the G-20 participants are planning on drinking from the toilet...
...Makes sense that they might drink from the toilet...that's where the economy is
How do you fail to see the use of these fish? Where do you think the toilet water comes from? The SAME WATER SUPPLY as the drinking fountains and sinks. If somebody were to contaminate the water supply to the conference, the fish would get the same contaminated water.
What I think is more absurd is that somebody will have to repeatedly check the fish to see if they died. That's pretty silly.
For anyone who thinks that this is cruel to the fish, get over yourself. It's a goldfish. If it wasn't in a toilet, it would be in some 6-year old's fish bowl and dead in 2 weeks anyway.
The fish wouldn't help if they contaminated the water somewhere after the seperation of toilet and drinking water. Yeah it might be more difficult but the less the Animal activist is right, it's a stupid idea. PH, and tempature variations could kill the fish. Of course then every leader at G20 would cry wolf (terrorist attack); the US would invade Iran, China would invade Taiwan, the UK would invade Argentina, jesus why do people follow these jack asses? Come on people of the world, there are better leaders among us.
Mike I understand the point you are trying to make that it is people first, animals second, but I had a goldfish live 12 years, and 30 is attainable if healthy. We have a tiered system we made up for the value of life, but that fish was my pet and I'd no sooner want it to suffer than I'd want a dog or cat to suffer.
Are you kidding me???!!!
I'm all for protecting the attendees, but I don't quite see how watching fish who are in a tank supplying TOILET WATER is supposed to protect anyone?
Some of you need some basic education before posting.
Forgive her BigD, she's probably American like me. Americans can't read, they can only write.
Whoa, if these are put in the storage tank, and someone flushes.....out goes waste and in comes a goldfish. GENIUS !!!!
American think tanks are now plotting the possibilities that some of these gold fish may have made their way up the loose rectums of our world leaders. Gold fish are running the show now people, hey maybe we can finally see some sign of intelligence from these clowns.
So the goldfish could be flushed into the toilet? That's a role reversal.
Not in Soviet Russia.
It's a goldfish. They're not even good to eat. Stop you whining, PETA, and let them swim in the toilet water. Go back to your tree and eat you grass.
Sarah, insulting someone's grammar to make yourself appear more intelligent is the lowest form of forum-trolling. Get a grip.
peta = people eating tasty animals
yeah, the tank on your toilet stores water..when you flush , water from the tank pushes the water in the bowl past the trap. Remaining water fills the bowl. This is clearly an upper-decker using a goldfish. friggen awesome
As an avid fish enthusiast this is really really stupid for them to pull something this rediculous! The animal rights group is correct in that there are better ways to defend government leaders against this kind of thing rather then resorting to using these poor animals not knowing what their outcome will be. And then afterwards are the fish given good homes or are the placced back into feeder tanks to be used as snake food? Either way not a good future for them. This sucks!
Maybe some PETA activists would like to volunteer to test the water instead of using fish. Since they consider themselves to have the same worth.... ah when it really gets down to it... its just something they say....
I was curious as to why the govt leaders needs to be protected anyways. most of them are anyway worthless an we could save a ton of tax $$s if they are not deciding what we ought to do...
Rumpranger,
I just stomped a few goldfish because of your post. Good job.
ever heard of the circle of life??? in nature the fish are gonna get eaten, nothing wrong with feeding them to snakes... and they won't die unless some idiot tries to poison the G20 summit anyways... i really dont see a problem
I thought they had little cameras attached to them or something cool. But of course not
those would be the coolest fish *ever*
I saw Korn in my poop last night if anyone was wondering where they have been hiding
Korn!?!?!? When did we eat corn?!?!?!?
If they're still there, can you get me an autograph?
Like a good number of CNN articles, this one is incomplete. The goldfish will be used to test drinking and drainage water.
This is an outrage! My species will not accept this. We will eat _all_ the flakes you put in our bowl until we die, unless our demands are met. You have been warned.
Pentagon just upgraded to defcon 3. President is expected to announce the invasion of Iran, where they are harboring known gold fish.
They were all out of mutated sharks with friggen laser beams attached to their heads.......Does anyone know if they're ill tempered goldfish ?
Goldfish.... with.... lasers?
Sweet! I need to get couple of those gold fish then!
In most cities, the same water that supplies toilets also supplies the tap which is used for drinking and cooking. Water supply contamination could effect both toilet and drinking water. There was probably something lost in translation.