This is the moment a nightclub worker films a glass hookah that has live turtles swimming around inside, sparking outrage online as well as a police investigation into the ‘trendy’ venue.
The incident was filmed at the Bar With No Name on Fokina Street in the city of Bryansk in the north-western Russian region of Bryansk Oblast by an employee identified as Dmitiry Sviridov.
In the nightclub footage, live turtles, the species of which is not currently clear, appear to be swimming around the glass body of the hookah, used for vaporising and smoking flavoured tobacco as well as various illegal substances such as cannabis and opium.
According to local media, the club charges revellers 800 RUB (10 GBP) to enjoy a hookah at their table.
Reports said that the social media post sparked outrage among netizens and led to the police opening an investigation into the incident.
According to reports, the venue could soon be visited by inspectors from the local health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare).
Meanwhile, a nightclub spokesperson has publicly apologised for the controversial hookah, according to local media.
Netizen ‘Aleksey Ivanov’ commented: “Let’s put the entire administration into a massive water container like that.”
‘Aleksander Savitskiy’ said: “Stop abusing turtles.”
‘Natali Romashchenko’ wrote: “Look, the smoke doesn’t go through the part where the turtles are. They are isolated.”
It is unclear if any arrests have been made.
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Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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