Penguins In Japan Flip Out Over Cheap Fish, Go On Hungry Strike

Penguins in Japan know there’s something fishy going on at this aquarium!

One aquarium in Japan decided to cut costs and give their penguins cheaper fish in the wake of inflation. The penguins have given their new food staple an icy reception, to say the least.

This is all taking place at the Hakone-en Aquarium in the country’s Kanagawa prefecture and recently made headlines thanks to HuffPost. Although the aquarium has typically fed penguins and otters Japanese horse mackerel as a regular staple in their diet, they started switching to a “cheaper” kind of mackerel.

The aquarium did not say where they are getting their new fish from, but it’s pretty clear that the penguins are not having it. In the video, one of the zookeepers keeps trying to push a fish into a penguin’s beak while he staunchly refuses to eat.

Aquarium head Hiroki Shimamoto told Agence France-Presse that both the penguins and the sea otters refuse to touch the cheap stuff. He said that the penguins “take it into their mouths at first, but then they decide they don’t like it, and drop it.”

The YouTube video seen above was shared shortly afterward, with the animals making it very clear how seriously they were taking their hunger strike.

Agence France-Presse said that the cost of horse mackerel has skyrocketed, not only due to general inflation but also due to a low catch yield. The aquarium started feeding their fish lower-pried mackerel in May just to supplement their usual diet. However, Shimamoto told Vice World News that the cheaper fish is going to make up more and more of their diets as costs continue to rise.

That being said, it seems that the hunger strike is working. For the penguins that absolutely refuse to eat the cheap mackerel, the aquarium isn’t about to let them go hungry. Shimamoto told Vice, “For the ones who refuse to eat the new fish, we just give them what they used to eat.”

Although the video went viral in Japan, it only recently started making a splash on Twitter after CNN’s Jake Kwon shared a screenshot of one of the birds refusing to eat the fish.

“Facing soaring inflation, a Japanese zoo has resorted to offering cheaper fish to its sea animals,” Kwon tweeted. “The penguins are very unimpressed, refusing to even look at them. The otters are throwing the offerings aside.”

"Yes King," another user commented. "Know your worth."

Another user offered it as a reaction to the question "Is Pepsi OK?"

"Workers of the world, unite!" another user urged.

Another user also found the screenshot relatable, adding, "me when they only have the store brand left."

Another user added the sobering reminder, "They deserve better."