An amusement park was forced to shut down its ice skating rink after getting backlash about 5,000 dead fish in the frozen water.
Owners of the Space World theme park in Japan, were excited with their new attraction, which they called one of a kind and “the world’s first.”
The company posted photos of the ice skating rink to social media, and it backfired. Instead of getting more customers, they received a lot of criticism.
About 25 different types of fish could be seen under the 820-foot long ice rink in Kitakyushu.
Some of the fish were used to spell the word “HELLO,” while others were made into an arrow-shaped sign in the ice.
Space World CEO Toshimi Takeda apologized for offending people.
He said that the fish in the ice were intended to “give the feel of skating in the ocean,” and that the amusement park is “extremely remorseful for having invoked such unpleasant feelings.”
Space World said that the fish were bought at a fish market after they were already dead. The ice skating rink was closed so that the ice could be melted and the fish removed.
The remains will likely be used as fertilizer.