Shenzhen arcade used live hamsters in claw machine, replaces it with live fish & turtles scooping machines after criticism

An arcade in Shenzhen, China, was recently accused of animal cruelty after live hamsters were spotted being kept and used as prizes in its claw machine.

On Mar. 2, a Xiaohongshu user shared photos of the hamsters, which appeared to be cowering in a corner in the machine labelled "FISHING".

The hamsters, kept in a noisy environment for people to catch as prizes, were in a terrible condition and looked obviously stressed, the user said.

When the user tried calling a citizen service line to report the arcade for animal abuse, they were told it was difficult to take action, as Shenzhen does not have an animal protection law.

A lawyer told South China Morning Post that the arcade might legally be required to have a licence to keep live animals, but China currently does not have a national animal welfare law to protect small, non-wild animals from abuse.

Outrage

The Xiaohongshu post sparked outrage, with many commenters agreeing that the arcade was abusing the animals.

A video of someone playing what appears to be the same claw machine was posted on Xiaohongshu earlier in February, and also attracted comments about animal cruelty.

Criticism grew after it emerged that no one was around to feed the hamsters when the arcade was closed during the Lunar New Year holidays, according to SCMP.

Replaced with other live animal machines

Coming under pressure, the arcade reportedly removed the hamster claw machines — but only to replace them with machines to scoop up live aquatic animals such as fish and turtles.

No certificates were seen in the premises to prove that the shop had the processes to manage live animals and prevent the spread of diseases, HK01 reported.

Over 100 fish were kept in a tank, which also had dirty filters.

A staff member later told SCMP that these machines have also been removed, and claimed that live animals were no longer being used as prizes at the shop.

Not the first case

This Shenzhen arcade is not the first establishment to offer live animals as claw machine prizes.

On social media, people have shared videos of picking up live hamsters, fish, and more animals with such machines in various cities around China.

Top images from 乌鲁维尔/Xiaohongshu and 疯狂小胖哥/Xiaohongshu