Agricultural fair = torture for fish

captmicha

captmicha

Le tired.
Dec 6, 2006
2,052
0
36
40
Maryland, USA
Have you guys seen anything like this at your county's ag fairs? One of the booths features live fish as a prize. What kind of fish you ask? Nice, big old goldfish and koi. The goldfish were bigger than the large size feeders you usually see at pet stores. And we all know where most of them are going. In to a bowl of course. The "luckier" ones will be going into those small one gallon type aquarium set ups featuring Spongebob and friends decor that you can find at Walmart.

If I complain to the people who run the fair, do you think they'd do anything? Or even bother to listen to me?
 
The problem with this is that you get those heartwarming stories about people who's first experience with fish ever was a goldfish they won at the fair, they put them in a 1 gallon bowl, then upgraded to a 10 gallon...and lo and behold 10 years later they're in a 55 gallon tank, happy as can be. I am sure there are members like this in this very forum, actually.

Goldfish as prizes is a tradition, I'm afraid, so the people who set it up I'm sure are going to be resistant to changing. In the UK, of course, it's illegal - just like feeder fish are illegal - they are much smarter about these things.

What I would do is make a petition, and get others to sign it. Talk to the parents and let them know that the excitement of winning a goldfish at the fair is negated by the sadness of having their pet die in a bowl or tiny tank. The longer the goldfish lives, the sadder it will be for them.

I know of a parent who tried, but couldn't, change the minds of the local church organization which hosted the carnival. So what she did was print out a bunch of coupons for $10 off a $50 purchase at Petsmart and a bunch of one page care sheets. Not sure how well it worked - but a great idea, I thought.

Unfortunately, feeder fish are just doomed to be exploited...what really worries me is that it's such a poor lesson for the kids. Grownups should know better! Animals as prizes is just ethically wrong in so many ways.

There has to be an alternative...but what?
 
we won 5 fish last year at the fair so we could trade them in for one hermit crab to rescue. it fits in the spare 10 gallon i had around, costs less to maintain and the little man had a blast and wound up with 3 new pets. of course we bought the other 2 for company at a lps....

for those of us who know better and care there's an alternative. for the rest... who knows... if you're compassionate and passionate about this hobby you're likely to be hurt by someones ignorance eventually. if there were laws that were enforced pertaining to fish care it would be one thing... but law enforcement wouldn't (and obviously don't) pay it any mind. caring individuals often get caught in the middle or caught up emotionally. it's unfortunate... what the fish go through and that legally there's nothing really we can do about it. folks have tried. maybe the time will come but apparently it's not right now.
 
Nicole, you also have people like I met at my country club this year who proclaimed proudly how long their goldfish in a gallon bowl lived for. When I asked how long it's "long" life span was, they told me something like 4 years.
 
I hear ya.

There's a Dockside Imports (Pier 1 type of place) in my town - the staff have 2 comets in a critter keeper, like this but a bit bigger:
010838200121B.jpg


Their water looks white and cloudy and nasty, I can't imagine how it smells. The fish are really big, almost 4" long. They each have names - obviously the employees care about them. They just don't know...and don't want to know!

It's hopeless, I'm afraid. I guess goldfish breed too prolifically for their own good and are doomed to be disposable...if only we'd wise up and be more like the UK about this particular matter.
 
Feeder fish are illegal, fish as prizes are illegal as well. Genetically modified fish are also banned.

Not sure about tank size though...maybe. I know Rome has banned goldfish bowls :)
 
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