Photo: Kateřina Šulová, ČTK
As at this time every year, stands have appeared around Czechia selling live carp, the traditional Christmas dinner staple. Though some Czechs keep a fish in the bath to kill themselves, officials say it is best to leave that task to the professionals.
At a stand on the Prague square Tylovo náměstí on Thursday morning, one carp after the other was dispatched by a mallet to the head, followed by a knife to the throat.
With just days until Christmas, nearly 3,000 such stands – with adjacent large tanks of live fish – have sprung up in all corners of the country, including over 200 in Prague alone. After all, carp is the centre-piece of the traditional Czech Christmas Eve dinner.
Ensuring all of this takes place as hygienically and humanely as possible is the State Veterinary Administration, which says it inspects about one-quarter of all carp stands every year.
See the rest here.