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Chinese TV stations urged by animal rights groups not to show goldfish magic trick

Below from financenews

Chinese TV stations are being urged by animal rights groups not to show a magic trick of a goldfish swimming in formation.

Although the group does not know how the amazing magic trick works they believe the performance could involve the use of magnets and therefore harm the fish.

Campaigners are putting pressure on to get the act, which was supposed to be broadcast in variety shows on Thursday to mark the end of the Chinese New Year holiday, dropped.

Fu Yandong, the magician and creator of the trick, denies the trick causes any harm to the fish.

Appearing on one of China’s biggest shows, China Central Television’s New Year’s Eve special, the trick has amazed audiences across the world.

The trick involves Mr Fu taking six goldfish and then releases them into a shallow tank and somehow gets them to swim together.

Although an amazing trick, instead of being praised, the magician has been criticised by more than 50 animal rights groups.

Liu Huili, of Da’erwen campaign group, said: “Goldfish are small creatures that anyone can easily buy and abuse, or even kill.”

Liu wants TV stations to drop the act from variety shows planned to mark the end of the Lunar New Year.

Some stations, including the state broadcaster CCTV, are reported to have agreed to ditch the controversial segment. Others plan to show it regardless.

Meanwhile, Mr Fu has hit back at the criticism.

“If I used magnets, the fish would stick together,” he told a CCTV news programme.

“Some people say I use electricity or high technology. They can say what they want, but the fish are safe,” he added.

The magician has declined to say exactly how the trick is performed.

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Goldfish act conjures up dirty tricks allegation

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Below from peopledaily.com

Goldfish swim in perfect unison, apparently following the command of magician Fu Yandong at the China Central Television New Year's Eve gala show in Beijing on Feb 2. Provided to China Daily

Six goldfish swam in two straight lines, turned left and right, and paraded in a glass tank as a magician blew a whistle to "command" them.

It had all the precision of a military drill. And it was a sensation, as expected, when China Central Television broadcast it live on Feb 2 as part of the Spring Festival gala show.

What was not expected, however, was that within days imitators of magician Fu Yandong posted their experiments with goldfish online. Public criticism surged as people speculated that these amateurs had mistreated the fish, with metal and magnets, instead of actually training them.

Animal protection groups fear that the "trick" endangers fish, and are demanding legislation to ban domestic animal abuse in China. On Monday, 53 groups issued a joint call to CCTV to drop similar acts on television shows.

CCTV agreed, and canceled Fu's scheduled appearance on Thursday night on its Lantern Festival show. However, Hunan Television booked a performance by Fu on its station.

The owner of the performing goldfish, Fu Yandong, is 35 and represents the fourth generation in a family of magicians. His father, Fu Tenglong, is considered the "King of Magic" in China.

The younger Fu would not reveal the secrets of his magic, but his agent, Liang Ming, said Fu's fish were not harmed and "are living happily".

"We've heard that some people tried to imitate our goldfish trick, but they did it the wrong way," Liang said. "Mr Fu just wants to tell those imitators to stop trying."

Song Dian, director in charge of Hunan TV's Lantern Festival show, declined to comment on Fu's performance on the Spring Festival show, but he promised: "In our show the act will be done only when it does not hurt the fish."

Song did not say how the safety of the fish would be secured.

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Something 'fishy' about this trick

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Magician Fu Yandong (right) performs a magic trick that makes goldfish swim in a formation during CCTV's Spring Festival gala. The show has irked activists as they feel such acts harm animals. Photos provided to China Daily

Below from chinadaily.com

Shows depicting cruelty to animals should not be aired on TV, say activists

It was not only the trick that got the maximum bouquets, but also the one that got innumerable brickbats. Millions of Chinese citizens were glued to their television sets during the Spring Festival gala show aired by China Central Television Station (CCTV) on Feb 2, and watched with bated eyes the famous magician making goldfish swim in a formation.

True to his word, the magician made the six goldfish swim in two straight lines, moving left and right, in a glass container to the tune of a whistle much like the military drills.

The show was a runaway hit and such was its popularity that its recordings were hot favorites on the Internet. There were also several instances of wannabe magicians attempting to replicate the trick. But the euphoria soon waned and the illusionary feat was branded with a 'cruelty to animals' tag.

Animal rights groups were the first off the block and soon after the show was aired, came out with claims that the goldfish owner had tortured his pets by force feeding them metal objects and then drilled them with the help of magnets.

Allegations continued to be traded back and forth and soon it became the most-debated topic in the virtual world.

What really tipped the iceberg was the video posted by an anonymous netizen in which he attempts to replicate the magic trick by trying to feed the goldfish super glue and metal beads. The trick failed when the goldfish spat out the metal beads, says his detailed post on Tianya.cn, one of the most popular online communities in China.

Undeterred, the netizen then tried to attach magnetic plates under the goldfish's stomachs using super glue. That attempt also failed, as the fish stomach was too slippery.

In a last-ditch effort he then crammed magnets into the goldfish's mouths and then sealed them with super glue. "That worked as after the glue dried up, the magnets did not fall out," he says. But tragedy struck when the goldfish died just as he was getting ready to film the experiment.

Animal rights groups have condemned the experiment as they feel that such attempts could endanger the lives of more goldfish, revered as symbol of wealth in China.

Anhui News, an online media company in Anhui province, has reported that an increasing number of children are buying goldfish along with their parents at fish markets due to the influence of the magic trick.

Animal lovers in China are irked by the fact that there are no available laws in the country to punish such offenders. Though China passed a law for protecting wild animals in 1988, its scope does not extend to categories like pets, livestock and experimental animals.

More than the magic trick TV show, it is the copycats that the animal rights groups are more worried about. The activists feel that lives of several animals could be at stake as untrained people attempt to perform such feats.

The animal abuse debate has also put the media in the spotlight, with most campaigners urging the fourth estate to champion animal ethics.

Fu Yandong, the magician and goldfish owner, however, does not reveal how he achieved his magic feat. The 35-year-old performer comes from a reputed family of magicians in Beijing, with his father Fu Tenglong referred to as the "King of Magic" in China.

"We have heard of several cases of people trying to replicate our goldfish trick. But they all did it the wrong way. Fu has categorically urged the imitators to stop such attempts," says his agent Liang Ming.

Fifty-three animal welfare organizations have sent a joint letter to CCTV and other stations urging them not to telecast such shows in the future.

The activists feel that without proper laws and regulations in place to punish the offenders, scores of animals would be subject to brutal torture and injury by copycats.

The letter also seeks a third-party expert review on the risks of animal abuses in such performances and a ban on such programs. They have also urged channels to run a "do-not-imitate" moving ticker throughout the program.

The absence of legislation is not the only thing that has irked animal lovers.

"Even without specific animal protection laws, the goldfish trick still violates the fundamentals of related regulations on animal welfare in China," says Qin Xiaona, director of the Beijing-based Capital Animal Welfare Association.

Qin argues that the State Forestry Administration and Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has banned live animal shows at all wildlife parks and zoos in China.

"That regulation actually suggests that we humans should not entertain ourselves by causing pain to animals," she says.

Although the ban does not literally apply to TV programs, Qin feels that influential media outlets like CCTV should be discreet when staging any animal-related programs, especially during the Spring Festival Gala, as it is probably the most viewed TV show in China.

According to statistics from Beijing-based CSM Media Research, the number of viewers in China who watched this year's Spring Festival Gala exceeded 30 percent, the highest in recent times.

Liu Huiyi, a researcher at the Da'erwen Nature Association, a Beijing-based NGO that co-authored the letter, says animal performances in some nations are allowed only after experts confirm that the performance is not harmful to animals.

"Although there is no specific regulations to punish people who abuse animals, we should keep an eye out for the offenders. In large parties or ceremonies, people should be reminded of the idea that animals are friends of human beings and need to be protected," says Liu.

The joint letter, which was also sent to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Ministry of Culture, is, however, yet to get an official response.

The goldfish trick, has however, got backing from ardent fans of magic. "The magic trick was amazing, but we will try to replicate the experiment by torturing fish," says Hu Yunshi, a 34-year old resident of Anqing in Anhui province. Hu is an ardent fan of magic and a keen CCTV Spring Festival program watcher for the past 10 years.

In what could be sweet music for the much-beleaguered hoist CCTV, activists like Qin have a word of praise for the channel.

"The CCTV gala did promote animal protection, when the directors and costume designers refused to use real fur in their dresses," she says.

Guo Pei, chief costume designer of the gala, dropped her original plan to use sealskin decorations in the dresses for hostesses after receiving appeals from animal protection groups and the public.

"The mass media has a role to play in forming public values and ethics," says Qin, adding "protecting animals is in line with the Chinese belief of living harmoniously with the nature."

The goldfish performance was not the only controversy on animal welfare during the Spring Festival holidays. More than 30 galas were broadcast on provincial TV channels nationwide, and the fur clothes worn by the actors and hostesses came in for severe criticism.

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Magician told to drop goldfish act

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Below from practicalfishkeeping.

CCTV (China Central Television) has received a letter from 53 animal charities and other NGOs requesting that they cancel a performance by magician Fu Yandong, in which he 'magically' controls goldfish.

Under his influence, the goldfish swim in formation and perform a variety of carefully choreographed movements.

The show, called 'nian nian you yu' meaning 'having a surplus every year' wowed spectators at the 'Spring Festival Gala of the Rabbit Year' which was aired on CCTV on February 2.

Fu told 'The Ghangzhou Daily' that he would be repeating the act on CCTV’s 'Lantern Festival Gala' which is due to be shown on February 17, prompting the angry response of a number of animal organisations.

The act itself brings to mind several videos released showing fish moving in formation in which it may be likely that magnets were implanted. There has been speculation that the fish have been trained by electroshock.

However, Fu has defended himself against claims of animal cruelty and abuse and insists that his act is purely magic, and he cannot reveal his methods because of the restrictions imposed by the magicians’ guild.

He goes on to say that his methods involve sophisticated technology.

Many of the co-signers of the letter are concerned that viewing such tricks will encourage others to imitate them, causing harm to the animals involved.

The letter reads: "Before the Animal Protection Law is complete and comprehensive, any influential TV programmes should not allow animal shows, to avoid the potential torture or injury to animals resulting from audience members trying to imitate performances."

They further went on to say that the show should not be aired unless thoroughly vetted by third-party animal rights followers to ensure that the animals were not being caused to suffer for entertainment. They also add that CCTV should apologise to the public should any wrong-doing be veiled.

In response to the letter, Chen Linchun, General Director of the 'Spring Festival Gala’' said that the 'Lantern Festival Gala' would not feature any animal-related shows and that included Fu’s goldfish act.

Fu, also in response, has said he would be willing to involve the animal rights groups in examining his treatment of the fish and his training of them. His manager stipulates that Fu’s methods are harmless, and the pair plan to release an internet message to warn people not to mimic the performance.

There is no specific evidence of cruelty in the act, and Fu claims that he has had the goldfish since he was a boy and that they are 'living happily'.

Liu Huiyi, a member of one of the co-authoring NGOs, has said that she wishes to see animal experts involved during the act for safety reasons.

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This is a video I've watched quite a number of years back. The Chinese magician probably copied this trick from the Japanese.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AARkV5KjaBA

:ThanxSmiley:

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