Skating rink with fish frozen in ice forced to close after uproar

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Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images

File photo

As skating rinks open for business in the U.S., an ice skating location in Japan has shut down temporarily after word got out that the owners froze dead fish into the ice.

Social media users were up in arms after the Space World amusement park posted photos on its Facebook page that showed fish, shellfish and crabs frozen in different designs embedded in ice, CNN reported.

The rink opened two weeks ago with the fish that were bought from a fish market in the area. The animals were already dead when purchased.

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According to Sky News, the fish was unfit to be sold.

The park had included about 5,000 fish in the display, The Guardian reported.

Some of the fish were used to spell the word hello and were used to make an arrow to point skaters which way to skate.

Another school of fish was embedded in ice "swimming" around a post, The Guardian reported.

The park's manager apologized and said he was shocked that there was outrage, CNN reported.

Some questioned if children would enjoy skating over the fish and accused the park's owners of having no soul.

The ice rink also used printed images of sharks and rays under the ice, The Guardian reported.

The rink's operators said a memorial service for the fish will be held and they will be used as fertilizer, CNN reported.