A popular children’s bath toy has been urgently recalled in New Zealand after it has left toddlers overseas needing stitches for puncture wounds.

The singing and swimming “Baby Shark” toy made by Zuru Toys has been recalled after reports of multiple lacerations to children playing with them.

The toys, which retail for around $19, were sold at The Warehouse and KMart. More than 7.5 million have been sold worldwide.

The California-based toymaker - founded by Kiwi brothers Nick and Mat Mowbray - has recalled both full-size and mini versions of its robotic baby shark toys that have hard plastic top fins, which pose injury risks.

There have been at least 12 injuries reported overseas after children sat on or fell on the hard plastic fin.

Nine children needed stitches or medical attention according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

In New Zealand the Baby Sharks were coming off the shelves and parents and caregivers were ordered to remove them from play immediately.

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment issued the urgent recall.

Consumers in possession of the recalled toys are instructed to stop using them immediately and contact Zuru for a full refund.

Instructions on how to de-fin the Baby Shark toy and apply for a refund have been posted online. Photo / MBIE

To get the refund, customers are asked to cut off or bend the tail fin, write “recalled” and a registration code on the body of the baby shark and upload a photo on a site dedicated to the recall.

Injuries have only been reported with the full-sized toys but Zuru is also recalling Robo Alive Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toys “out of an abundance of caution”.

The recalled products can be identified by model numbers and date codes and included Zuru’s Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toys and Robo Alive Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toys. They were sold in-person and online at chains such as The Warehouse and KMartMay 2019 through March 2023.

In a company announcement, Zuru noted that the recall only impacts the versions of the baby shark toys with a hard plastic fin. The newest toys, which have a silicone fin, are not part of the recall.

“We want to assure our customers that we are committed to the highest levels of safety and quality of all our products, and we have implemented measures to prevent future incidents by working to promptly remove these products from retail and replace them with a newly designed product,” Zuru said in a statement.