animal keychains
Thomas Nelson
Thomas Nelson
July 20, 2016 ·  2 min read

Live Animals Are Being Stuck Inside Tiny Plastic Keychains In China And Sold As Jewelry

There are many different ways that humans have abused animals for their entertainment. From putting them in circuses, to riding on their backs for entertainment, we have come up with countless ways to use animals for our amusement at their expense. A shocking trend first reported in 2011 saw live animal keychains being sold around the world.

However, it has recently been revealed that a shocking trend in China has taken this to a new level, and it’s been going on for years. Keeping live animal keychains as jewelry.

Read more: Animal Cruelty Is Officially a Nationwide Felony

Live animals keychains first reported in 2011

This is an issue that CNN reported on back in 2011, however, the trend has still been going strong ever since, and little has been done to stop it.

They found that small fish, turtles, and other amphibians are being sold in small, plastic pouches by street vendors while they are still alive. The animal keychains looked so incredibly inhumane.

One of these live animal-filled pouches costs only around $1.50 and provides the animal with just barely enough room to squirm around.

According to the vendors selling these “trinkets”, the pouches are filled with a clear or colored oxygenated water that provides the animals with nutrients.

Read more: 5000 Animals Found Dead In Chinese Shipping Facility

The animals don’t last long

However, the animals can only survive in a few days in the pouch and will die if the customer does not release it early enough, something that they are not obligated to do.

These live animal pouches have caused outrage among animal activists in Asia and worldwide. Many of them have pointed towards the lack of animal protection laws in China to be the reason this is so prevalent.

This use of animals as jewelry is not unique to China, however. Encrusting live beetles in precious jewels and wearing them as broaches is a common practice in Mexico.

Wearers then attach these live beetles to their clothing using either chains or clothespins.

Keep reading: German Lab Called Out for Abhorrent Animal Cruelty