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Goldfish as prizes

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Is it still legal? Or is it just illegal to give to under 16s?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm a fair / theme park enthusiast, and I still see live fish being given out to kids to this very day. One difference now is that instead of using sandwich bags, they are issued in a transparent bucket with a handle which is more sturdy. As far as I know, prize goldfish are still legal.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Who over 16 would want a goldfish? What a weird law (or not). I sold my last tank to a guy whose son had won a goldfish... it was a 30 gallon with a bunch of stuff... I felt bad for selling it to him, get a bowl, dude :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I thinks its moreof a law of being a certain age before you can be responsible for a pet. Or something like that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Had a quick google.... Found this from a random newspaper article
    Under the Animal Welfare Act (2005) it is illegal to give a prize fish to an unaccompanied child under 16, but some councils have banned it altogether on their land after pressure from animal rights activists.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think one of the animal rights issues was that the goldfish given away weren't very well to start with and, if you won one as a prize it was all too easy to accept it because it was a prize but not be prepared to look after it when home.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    one year at a fair near where I used to live, loads of them died because the drunk people who won them as prizes just dropped them or put them down and they got trodden on.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    one year at a fair near where I used to live, loads of them died because the drunk people who won them as prizes just dropped them or put them down and they got trodden on.

    :(
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    one year at a fair near where I used to live, loads of them died because the drunk people who won them as prizes just dropped them or put them down and they got trodden on.

    People with stalls with goldfishes makes me :mad: give them a toy fish- cheaper and easier to look after.
    if you want a goldfish i think you should take a trip to the pet shop. animals shouldn't be given as prizes. poor fishies!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My ex boyfriend won me one a few years ago. They still came in a plastic bag, if you wanted one of those plastic buckets you had to pay £4 for it!

    Ahhh I didn't know about that. I've been chasing fairs for a few years now and only just noticed the buckets. I didn't realise it was at extra cost.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    awww, poor fish. It's kinda sad how goldfish are viewed as disposable animals.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    my name wrote: »
    Who over 16 would want a goldfish?

    :blush:

    I own probably about 70 fish and 20 shrimp. :p None of them goldfish though.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    wow, i didn't know they still had real live goldfish as prizes? surely the animal rights charities would be all over that?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    all the ones ive ever won, died after about a day anyway. They dont survive the trauma of being hung up in a bag all day in the sun, and then jostled home
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Jaloux wrote: »
    I own probably about 70 fish and 20 shrimp. :p None of them goldfish though.

    7 packets of fish fingers and a prawn balti doesn't count :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    RubberSkin wrote: »
    7 packets of fish fingers and a prawn balti doesn't count :D

    Damn... but I named one fish finger Pete. Does that help? +puppy eyes+
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Don't tell me laws and bureacracy is interfering with that English tradition of giving away goldfish at fun fairs and seasides
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Don't tell me laws and bureacracy is interfering with that English tradition of shooting Welshmen
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    Don't tell me laws and bureacracy is interfering with that English tradition of shooting Welshmen

    Or jocks ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I had one that lived for a few years post- fair. I haven't seen them as prizes for years though.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Jaloux wrote: »
    Damn... but I named one fish finger Pete. Does that help? +puppy eyes+

    Pete the fish finger. Has a nice ring to it :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    KiwiFruit wrote: »
    Don't tell me laws and bureacracy is interfering with that English tradition of giving away goldfish at fun fairs and seasides

    Don't tell me laws and bureaucracy is interfering with a harmless bit of cruelty to animals. Honestly, what is the world coming to?

    If it hasn't been banned yet, it bloody well should be.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi there guys,

    Some people are disgusted when they see animals being used as prizes; including goldfish and it's not surprising when you hear about some of the stories people have.

    For example what SuzyCreamcheese says 'all the ones ive ever won, died after about a day anyway. They dont survive the trauma of being hung up in a bag all day in the sun, and then jostled home'.

    There is actually a petition at 10 Downing Street right now to ban the practice of giving goldfish away at funfairs. You can visit the petition at this website and you can sign up if this is something you feel strongly about. The deadline is 26 September 2010. However, at the moment it seems like they are updating their e-petition service so you might not be able to sign up straight away but you can keep checking the site for any updates. If you find a way of signing up then let us know.

    There was also a previous petition on the same issue; http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Goldfishprizes/. And the PM's response can be found at http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page20730.

    So clearly people do feel strongly about this and want to change the law to make it stricter for people to give goldfish away as prizes.

    As for the current law;
    The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it illegal to give animals as prizes to under 16's who are unaccompanied by an adult. The Act also makes it an offence to fail to provide for the welfare of the animal; he maximum penalty is a fine of £5,000 or 6 months imprisonment, or both.
    It is also an offence to cause an animal any unnecessary suffering. The maximum penalty is a fine of £20,000 or 6 months imprisonment, or both.

    Hope this helps.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Nice to see there's a petition on it. :thumb: I'd sign it if I wasn't in a different country. I really can't see any justification for needless abuse of animals.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They died yesterday anyway. But I'm going to sign the petition, I don't believe in it, I had no idea it still happened.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    fishkeeping.co.uk/articles_12/keeping-goldfish.htm

    Goldfish are much more difficult to look after than tropical fish. Goldfish produce a lot mire waste per inch of fish therefore need cleaned out more often. They also grow to 8-10 inches long and so will need at 3ft tank. Bowls are a common misconception and you absolutely must get a filter. Winning a goldfish at a fair commits you to at least 50 quid of expenditure if not much more if you want to try to keep the damn thing alive.

    Totally daft idea.
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