VOA新闻杂志--法国最大鱼缸供应商宣布不再销售小鱼缸

French Company Stops Selling Tiny Fishbowls

The big French pet care company AgroBiothers Laboratoire will no longer sell very small containers for raising fish.

The company has a 27 percent share of the French market for products used by people who raise animals at home. But it said it would no longer sell any aquariums² that hold less than 15 liters of water. They will only offer rectangular³ ones.

The company said it was animal abuse to put fish in small bowls without added oxygen and filtration . Filtration is the process of removing small particles or waste from the water with a device.

AgroBiothers chief Matthieu Lambeaux recently spoke⁴ to the Reuters news agency. He used the term impulse⁵ – meaning a sudden strong desire to do something – to describe why many adults buy goldfish.

"People buy a goldfish for their kids on impulse," he said. Lambeaux added, "but if they knew what a torture it is, they would not do it. Turning round and round in a small bowl drives fish crazy and kills them quickly."

Gold fish can live up to 30 years and grow to about 25 cm in large aquariums or outdoor ponds. But in very small bowls they often die within weeks or months.

Lambeaux said gold fish are social animals that need other fish, lots of space and clean water. He added that having an aquarium¹ requires some special equipment and knowledge.

France is Europe's number one market for red aquarium fish, with about 2.3 million fish, Lambeaux said.

In earlier years, AgroBiothers sold about 50,000 fish bowls per year at about 20 euros each.

Germany and several other European countries have long banned fish bowls, but France has no laws on the issue.

Lambeaux believes the use of fish bowls to be an anachronism – something that seems to belong to the past.

He explained the company's decision further by saying, "We cannot educate all our customers to explain that keeping fish in a bowl is cruel. We consider that it is our responsibility to no longer give consumers that choice."

Lambeaux suggested that the reality of fishbowls is sad.

"There is demand for fish bowls," he said, "but the reality is that what we offer children is the possibility to see gold fish die slowly."

Words in This Story

aquarium – n. a glass or plastic container in which fish and other water animals and plants can live

consumer – n. a person who buys goods and services

1 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

2 aquariums   

n.养鱼缸，水族馆( aquarium的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Biotope aquariums represent the natural environments of ornamental fish. 生态鱼缸表现出观赏鱼的自然生活环境。 来自互联网
• There are aquariums in many cities in the world. 世界上好多城市有水族馆。 来自互联网

3 rectangular   

adj.矩形的，成直角的

参考例句：

• He put a rectangular box on the table.他把一个长方形的箱子放在桌子上。
• The equations are written in rectangular coordinates.这些方程是在直角座标系中写出的。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 impulse   

n.（一时的）冲动，冲力，脉冲，神经冲动

参考例句：

• She wrote that letter on impulse.她一时冲动写了这封信。
• I don't know how to resist my impulse.我不知道怎样抑制自己的感情冲动。