Goldfish shouldn’t be prizes at funfairs

[Pigeonpoodle]

I didn’t think this was a thing any more (the last time I saw goldfish offered as a prize was in the 1980s when I was a kid!)

However, there was a stall doing exactly this at a large firework display/concert on Saturday at a country house in East Suffolk (people from the area can have a good guess at where I mean)… Loads of goldfish in tiny plastic bags ready to be won if you could throw some darts accurately. I then saw a woman later that evening casually swinging her arm back and forth as she walked with a goldfish bag in hand, bashing the poor fish around in its tiny bag.

AIBU to think this practice is cruel and irresponsible, and that the country house who allowed this should be ashamed.

The fireworks were amazing… the totally unnecessary goldfish stall marred the experience though.

Same here - in my parents' pond for about 15 years after I'd left home. It was about a foot long.

I was surprised to see a county show had fish as prizes on one of their stands last summer. It was part of the child’s fun fair section. I saw lots of poor fish being carried around in bags that day.

I too thought this was now illegal - shame on any event that allows this to happen.

Goldfish can live for up to 30 years and they can grow absolutely huge. they are also more intelligent than they are given credit for - the short memory thing is a myth.

So many people don't realise as so many of the poor creatures die prematurely due to poor care.

I hate the way we assign our own 'values' to other creatures. If this had been kittens there would have been an outcry at the event, but because they're "just fish", many people don't bat an eyelid.

OP, please consider reporting this event to the local council. I would also complain directly to the event organisers, including on social media.

I actually think there’s something really nasty, perhaps even psychotic, about people who peddle this at fairs. They’re deliberately and wantonly treating another animal cruelly and with contempt, as though it can be discarded to die the moment the novelty quickly wears off, as casually as a dandelion picked in a summer’s afternoon.

As children (and perhaps even now) they were the types who got sick pleasure in pulling the wings off flies or tormenting their pet cat….

Threads like this make me feel glad to see so many kind people who agree that tiny fish and their wellbeing do matter. Thank you, OP.

Wow, I thought it was banned already too.

And who on earth voted YABU? I wish they would comment.

Write to local authority, they can ban it at events in the area. Try to encourage others also to write too. Also complain directly to the event organisers and venue. There's information about what to say on the RSPCA website.

Only on land they own it seems.

The law needs to be changed to ban it entirely.

If it's banned by the LA then a precedent is set in the area that gives more leverage to campaign when it happens at private events. I do animal welfare campaigning as my job. You'll not get the government to ban this quickly, it's way down the priority list. Tackling it at local authority level and writing to the venue, plus kicking up a fuss publicly on the event or venue page is most likely to get you the result you want more quickly.

Agree op. I wish everyone would also be as offended by the fishing industry.

Please would someone comment on their previously mentioned Facebook page about this? It's absolutely awful that this was happening and animals made to suffer.