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Dead fish in Berlin: Peta criticizes the attitude in aquariums
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JOHN MACDOUGALL v AFP
They were a highlight for numerous visitors: around 1,500 fish, some of them exotic, lived in the Aquadom large aquarium in Berlin.
But the aquarium burst early in the morning, and the emergency services initially assumed that all the animals were dead.
Later they found around 30 live fish and brought them to safety.
In addition, 400 to 500 fish lived in several aquariums in the basement.
"Now it's a matter of evacuating them quickly," said Almut Neumann, environmental councilor for Berlin-Mitte, the dpa news agency.
The aquariums are currently not supplied with electricity.
"That's a problem.
The fish in the aquarium need electricity to supply them with oxygen.«
"We will first try to evacuate the endangered species," said Berlin's State Secretary for Consumer Protection, Markus Kamrad, at the scene of the accident.
There are numerous offers of help from institutions that are willing to take in the fish, said City Councilor Neumann.
It is also being checked how the capacity in the neighboring underwater world Sea Life is with other aquariums.
This facility is initially unaffected.
However, the fire department wants to check for possible damage.
Peta demands a memorial for the dead fish
The animal rights organization Peta generally criticized the keeping of fish on the occasion of the incident: "This man-made tragedy shows that aquariums are not a safe place for fish and other marine animals." She calls for the Aquadom not to be rebuilt.
"The days of fish being ripped from their natural environment and locked in a tank for the amusement of hotel guests must end once and for all."
Peta announced that it is considering legal action against Sea Life and called for "a memorial for the 1,500 sea creatures that have died".
Peta itself is not without controversy, partly because of partly controversial campaigns.
Sea Life has said it was "dismayed" by the destruction.
Sea Life said the company is currently trying to get more information from the owners of the Aquadome.
It called for refraining from speculation "until the background to the accident has been clarified".
According to Sea Life, the Aquadom does not belong to the company.
Material fatigue as a cause?
Sea Life operates a large aquarium in the affected hotel building.
A visit to the now destroyed Aquadom could also be booked via the Sea Life website.
The company that owns the destroyed Aquadom aquarium in Berlin has expressed its dismay at the accident.
The reason for the bursting of the huge cylinder full of water is still "completely unclear," said Union Investment spokesman Fabian Hellbusch on Friday.
"We are currently trying to get a more accurate picture of the situation and the damage caused in coordination with the police and fire brigade on site."
One must also speak of "luck in misfortune" when one considers everything that could have happened.
Berlin's Senator for the Interior, Iris Spranger, believed that material fatigue could have been the cause.
bbr/dpa