Scubaism

Civilised countries around the world have laws against the harassment of marine life. But it seems in Singapore, there is no such law.

In the Underwater World aquarium on Sentosa island in Singapore, there is a “Touch Pool” where visitors are encouraged to dip their hands inside “for some ‘hands on’ experience with starfish, stingrays and if you dare, baby sharks“.

Every day the stingrays and sharks have to swim for the lives with thousands of hands trying to catch or touch them. The stress alone could kill them and definitely shorten their lives, but the management of Underwater World seem oblivious to that.

There are even pufferfish which inflate on stress. And they can inflate only a few times in their lives because of the strain that engulfing water puts on their bodies. One wonders how many wild pufferfish that they have to buy every month to replace the ones that were killed from the strain.

To say nothing of the danger of putting your hand on a stingray which can whip its tail and slice off a finger or two when it senses danger.

Routinely, children are seen lifting the sea stars and sea cucumbers out of the pool, starving them of water. And when they are done with them, the sea creatures are not gently put back where they were taken from, but carelessly thrown back into the pool.

If you visit Singapore, tell other people about the Touch Pool. Stop visitors from harassing the marine life. Please link to this article.