A theme park in Japan has been forced to close it skating rink a month after opening it, after protests against the theme that had 5,000 fish frozen in ice. Several people have raised objection against the rink calling it “cruel”, “immoral”, “weird” and even “disrespectful” towards animals. However, authorities at the park, Space World, have clarified that the fish were already dead before they were frozen in the ice of the rink.

“We have received a lot of opinions such as ‘Using animals as entertainment and in events is bad’ and ‘Poor fish’. We sincerely apologise,” the park said in a statement. They clarified that the sting rays and crabs that can be seen in the rick were only superimposed photos. They said the fish they used were unfit for consumption and bought from local market. The fish were arranged in the form of an arrow to guide visitors towards the skating rink. Some were also arranged to spell out “hello”, reported The Guardian.

The rink was shut on Sunday after widespread criticism on social media. “We are planning to return it to its normal state,” a park representative told BBC. Though he did not reveal the date when the skating rink would be reopened to public, but the said that it would be open in December. The park is located in the southern city of Kitakyushu.