[South + June 19] According to British media reports, Jeffrey Dader, a 29-year-old man in Massachusetts, usa, shared a video of tickling a fish on TikTok (Douyin), which unexpectedly ignited a storm of public opinion.
After Jeffrey caught a manta ray in Cape Cod, he posted a video on Douyin. In the video, Jeffrey places the manta ray on the boat and asks, "Do you know how to tickle the fish," and then reaches out his thick gloved hand to touch the manta ray. When Jeffrey scratches it, the manta ray's mouth curls up, looking like it's giggling. Jeffrey said: "It makes me very happy, it has a happy face, like a baby's face, very cute. ”
The video has been viewed 114 million times and received 13 million likes, while netizens have also expressed their opinions: "I don't think it minds being tickled", "This is too cute, like children laughing", "This video is also too interesting".
However, while some netizens praised the video as funny, some people came out and slammed Jeffrey's behavior. "What looks like skate eyes in the video is actually its nostrils, the dot line under its mouth is its gills, it's not smiling, it's gasping" "This is so inhumane!" It's not a pleasure for manta rays. Sadly, the animal is abused because of opinions and preferences" "It is obviously under a lot of pressure, put it back in the water".
Jeffrey explained that he had released the manta ray back into the sea.
Proofreader: Ju Weiqiang