Minnesota renames the ‘Asian carp’ to avoid hurting Asians’ feelings

Minnesota’s governor recently signed a new bill into law that renames the “Asian carp” because the Asian community might find it offensive.

CBS reported that the bill, passed by the Senate in April and signed by the governor in late May, came about “in response to concern by some people that the current term casts people from Asian cultures in a negative light.”

The new name: “Invasive carp,” Mediaite reported.

The entire fish debate made headlines because lawmakers were discussing the best ways to defend the Great Lakes from an invasive species — the Cyprinidae family of fish, commonly referred to as the “Asian carp.” They’re called the “Asian carp” because they come from Asia.

As Mediaite reported, the fish entered U.S. borders in the 1970s from various Asian countries.

The renaming does not really have any bite behind it; nobody will be punished for continuing to use “Asian carp.” But official legislative policy is now to call the fish “invasive carp,” and that’s how legislators — at least, those who approve of the new name — will refer to the species on future reference.