The National Council of SPCAs recently sent out an appeal to the public: please do not buy tattooed or dyed fish.

The appeal of a new tattoo may seem like a good idea, but please, limit this to yourself and not your aquatic pets. The fish suffer a great deal of pain, and often times they do not survive the ordeal.

In the event that they do survive, they have an increased chance of infection, which inevitably leads to the fish suffering a slow and painful death.

The NSPCA is urging the public to do the right thing, and not support this trade.

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