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Mall blasting out Baby Shark to keep homeless people out branded 'cruel and unusual'

The Complexe Desjardins in Montreal, Quebec, began playing Baby Shark at varying speeds to act as a deterrent for loitering. But the method has been branded 'cruel and unusual'

[Baby Shark mall]

The mall began playing Baby Shark at varying speeds to act as a deterrent for loitering(Image: Youtube)

A shopping mall in Canada has resorted to playing the viral YouTube song Baby Shark to deter homeless people from loitering in its stairwells.

The Complexe Desjardins in Montreal, Quebec, began playing the children's tune at varying speeds to discourage people from hanging around. Many parents would probably agree that the idea of being trapped in a room with the track playing over and over would be somewhat torturous. However, some have argued that the method being employed by the mall bosses is "cruel and unusual".

According to Global News, the downtown mall began looping the song to keep its emergency exit stairwells clear.

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The news comes after angry Tesco staff in Britain reached breaking point with their limited in-store playlist, and set up a petition to have a "mindful" selection of music.

[Montreal mall Complexe Desjardin]

Montreal mall Complexe Desjardin(Image: D. Benjamin Miller/Wikimedia Commons)

Mall spokesman Jean-Benot Turcotti said: About a year ago, music was installed on some of the fire escapes in the Complexe Desjardins because we were having problems in these areas.

Since the installation of this sound solution, we have noticed an improvement in the situation.

The Quebec based mall is located in close proximity to the Old Brewery Mission, a support organization for the homeless.

Baby Shark has been effective and the mall has no plans to cease playing the song, which has over 15billion views on YouTube.

[Baby Shark]

Baby Shark has had more than 15 billion YouTube views(Image: Youtube)

Turcotti says that despite the continuous playing, the mall actually supports the homeless, pointing out that its owners donated 946,000 ($1.2 million) for homelessness in the city in 2023.

Our goal is not to coerce these people, but to support them. Thats why we have two social workers working at the Complexe Desjardins to ensure a dialogue with these people, he added.

Sam Watts, CEO of Welcome Hall Mission, an organisation dedicated to helping the homeless, condemned the repetitive playing of the children's song as "cruel and unusual."

[Homeless]

The discouraging ditty technique was described as 'cruel and unusual' (stock)(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

The tactic of using children's music to address homelessness isn't new; back in 2019, West Palm Beach in Florida resorted to blasting Baby Shark and Raining Tacos to encourage the homeless to move on.

Response to the mall's actions was a little more favourable on X, formerly Twitter.

One user wrote: "Actually i'm not even mad. It is creative."

Another said: "Better than dousing them with water. What other method would you use? They CAN'T live there."

While a third added: "I bet it was effective though!"

And a fourth mused: "It's all subjective. Maybe they're playing it to be soothing / entertaining."

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