Security officials at the Group of 20 summit in Seoul, South Korea, have deployed 50,000 police and soldiers, plus an elite water security unit: six goldfish.

Security officials placed six goldfish inside a tank supplying toilet water to the conference, the Mirror of London, England, reported. The officials will watch the fish for signs of illness or poisoning in an effort to protect the conferees, according to the Mirror.

An animal rights group is up in arms over the use of the finned defenders.

"There are a variety of modern scientific methods that would better protect world leaders and keep fish from enduring agonizing deaths from contaminated water," Tracy Reiman, executive vice president for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote in a letter to conference organizers.

"After all, the fish cannot tell you specifically what might be wrong with the water," she added.