The promotion was scheduled to take place at the Agenda bar tonight, the Waikato Times reported.
Bar owner Logan Hughes said he called off the event so he did not want to get into a "moral debate".
Bar staff would instead offer a chocolate fish and shot for everyone who asked for the goldfish drink and would have an SPCA donation box at the bar.
Mr Hughes had initially said the promotion was not as cruel as everyone was making it out to be.
It was frequently done in the United States, Thailand and England, he said.
