'I Am Not A Decoration;' PETA Protests Petco's Betta Fish Sales

TAMPA, FL -- As part of its national campaign urging Petco to stop selling betta fish, PETA has placed a billboard just down the street from a Tampa pet store that shows a fish staring out sadly from inside a fishbowl with the message:"I Am Not a Decoration. Betta Fish Suffer in Tiny Bowls."

The billboard is located at 4650 W. Kennedy Blvd., less than 500 feet from the Westshore Petco.

"Petco tosses out dead bettas like trash and orders new fish to replace them in an endless cycle of suffering and death," said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "PETA is calling on the chain to stop profiting from the misery of these vulnerable little animals."

Betta fish, also known as Siamese fighting fish, sold in the U.S. come primarily from breeding farms in southeast Asia. PETA said they are often starved for several days during the transport process and many die before and during shipment to retailers, which can take days.

Although betta fish in nature live in the shallow water of rice paddies, ponds or slow-moving streams, PETA said Petco sells these fish in small plastic cups, marketing them as "low-maintenance."

"Not only are the bettas Petco sells often condemned to spend their lives in a bowl or vase not much larger than a coffee cup after they're purchased, scores of Petco customers have also reported finding dead and sick fish floating in filthy water in containers on the store's shelves," said Reiman.

Petco issued the following statement regarding the billboard:

At Petco, our commitment to the health and well-being of the pets in our care is unwavering and a responsibility we take very seriously. We pride ourselves on having the highest standards of animal care in the industry – developed under the supervision of our Director of Veterinary Medicine, with counsel from independent experts in animal care, behavior and ethics.

To ensure the safety of betta fish in our stores, we follow specific guidelines for proper housing, diet and water quality. The containers in which we temporarily house betta fish at Petco are the largest in the industry. All of our betta fish are captive-bred. They are able to live in small amounts of water due to a labyrinth organ that allows them to “breathe” air from the water’s surface. Bettas in our stores are checked every hour during our Hourly Animal Health Checks; they’re provided a veterinarian-approved diet and their water is changed regularly.

We continually review our animal care standards, and we train our teams on and reinforce the critical importance of upholding those standards at all times.