Animal rights activists protested in Paris on Thursday against the Paris Aquarium and its New Year's Eve party, which they said could harm animal welfare and violate the law, something the manager denies.
Members of the Paris Animaux Zoopolis association gathered in front of the aquarium on Thursday and denounced the “extraordinary New Year's Eve” organized by the aquarium on Sunday.
About 1,500 “privileged people” are preparing to dance “in front of the largest pond in France with thousands of fish and the most beautiful specimens from all over the world,” a statement about the event promises.
AFP
The Paris Aquarium, one of the oldest in the world and now managed by a private company, has been converted into a nightclub since 2006. An activity that accounts for almost a quarter of sales.
However, the Paris Animaux Zoopolis (PAZ) association believes that these evenings are illegal, as a 2021 French law prohibits the “presentation of animals (…) in nightclubs”.
“Fish are not attractions or decorations,” PAZ co-founder Amandine Sanvisens told AFP. “The animals are not only trapped in aquariums, but are also disturbed by noise and light at night,” she complains.
AFP
Which the president of the aquarium, Alexis Powilewicz, denies. “Nothing happens. “The walls of the methacrylate pools are 35 to 40 centimeters thick, which is more than triple glazing,” he explains.
“Veterinary reports have never shown a single stereotypical behavior in animals,” Powilewicz continues. According to him, the site's nocturnal activity has no impact on the fish, which was confirmed by an inspection in 2019 by the department's Civil Protection Directorate.
Alexis Powilewicz believes that he is not violating the 2021 law either: “We do not exhibit the animals, they remain calm in their tank.”