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Christmas is approaching: carp in the bathtub – tradition or animal cruelty?
The article highlights the tradition of eating carp at Christmas in the Czech Republic and Poland, as well as the emerging animal welfare debate.
Christmas is approaching: carp in the bathtub – tradition or animal cruelty?
In the Czech Republic, carp at Christmas is inextricably linked to the holidays. Live carp are sold in stores where they are slaughtered upon purchase. Historically, many families have maintained the custom of bringing home live carp in plastic bags and keeping them in the bathtub until slaughter. This custom dates back to the socialist era, when refrigerators were rare in many households. However, the carp has established itself as a controversial Christmas tradition fish, and animal rights activists are warning about the cruelty associated with it. They emphasize that the fish in the stalls suffer considerable stress and lack of oxygen. This has led to the launch of the “A Christmas Without Violence” campaign to raise awareness of the plight of fish, such as Small newspaper reported.
Carp as a Polish tradition
Many Poles believe that eating carp on Christmas Eve has been a tradition for years. In reality, this custom only became popular after World War II. Before this point, carp was just one of many fish served at festival times, and wealthy families preferred finer varieties such as pike or pike-perch. It was only when the economy collapsed after the war and the supply of other fish species remained inadequate that the communist minister Hilary Minc developed the idea of promoting carp as a fast-growing fish suitable for the masses. Since then, the idea has become firmly established that one should eat at least a small portion of carp on Christmas Eve, although many people do not like it MDR reported.
In order to educate the population about the inappropriateness of selling carp live, the Prague city administration has launched an educational campaign informing citizens that the fish should not be placed in chlorinated tap water in bathtubs and should not be released into the wild as they would die there. In the Moldovan river environment, they would not be able to survive in the new environment, causing further stress and suffering.