Dear MP

As my elected representative in the houses of parliament I feel I must write to you to ask for your support in getting the abhorrent practice of dying fish stopped.

The following is from an article in Practical Fishkeeping Magazine

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Defra has confirmed that the proposed Animal Welfare Bill will not make it illegal for shops to sell fish that have been injected or tattooed with dyes.

Many trade experts had assumed that the proposed Animal Welfare Bill, which is currently being produced by the Government, would make it possible to prosecute shops that sell aquarium fish that had been mutilated in this manner.

However, Practical Fishkeeping has now received confirmation from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that the proposed Animal Welfare Bill will actually do little to curb the trade in dyed fish.
Speaking on behalf of Ben Bradshaw MP, Alexandra Davies of Defra told Practical Fishkeeping: "There are no plans at present to introduce a ban on the sale of dyed fish in this country under the Animal Welfare Bill.
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How It’s Done
Several methods are used to alter the colour and appearance of tropical fish. Colouring fish stresses them and makes them more susceptible to disease. Young fish that are not fully grown are often stunted by the painting process.

Some methods result in mortality rates as high as 80%. Many of the survivors will have an abbreviated life span. Nine out of ten painted fish will lose their colouration within a matter of months.

Coloured Food - Young fish are fed treated foods that will temporarily tint them. Once they are no longer fed the treated food, they eventually lose their colour. Unfortunately the dye they consume can negatively affect their growth and development.

Dye Injection - Needles are used to inject dye under the skin. Because only a small area is affected, the fish must be subjected to many punctures to achieve the desired effect. The popular painted glassfish are dyed this way, using florescent coloured paints. Fish that are injected often contract infections from the punctures.

Dipping - As barbaric as dye injections seem, this practice is even worse. The fish are first put into a caustic solution that strips off their protective outer slime coating. They are then dipped in dye, or injected with dyes, after which they are dipped in another chemical that irritates the flesh to stimulate re-growth of the slime coat. This method is very stressful, and has a high mortality rate.

Let me reiterate this, out of every 100 fish treated, 80 will die, from the remaining 20 that survive 18 will lose all the false colouration within a matter of months, just 2 out of every 100 fish treated will survive and retain the colouration for any length of time and it is likely that these remaining 2 fish with have shortened lifespans.

Thankfully, this barbaric practise is illegal in this country now, but to continue to allow the import and sale of these mistreated animals will encourage the further suffering of the animals for the profits made selling to the unknowing British public.

I would like to see both the import and sale of these unfortunate creatures made illegal and the
Animal Welfare Bill is the perfect tool to accomplish this task. I would ask you as my elected representative to push for this to be incorporated in the bill.


Yours sincerely

Thank you for contacting me with regard to the Animal Welfare Bill and the sale and importation of artificially coloured fish.

I await a ministerial response to my letter on your behalf to DEFRA.

I will contact you again as soon as I have more information.