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Re: [APD] Gold fish bowls banned



> On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 10:03:49 -0700 Jerry Baker <jerry at bakerweb_biz> wrote:
>> Gordon McLellan wrote:
>>> Ok - doesn't anyone else find those two paragraphs extremely scary?
>>> Is that actually what the laws are, or just speculative legislation,
>>> or just typical all hype no truth news reporting?
>>>
>>> Seems a slippery slope leading up to bad things .. Whats next, the
>>> mandatory televised 'State' wide physical exercise session every
>>> morning, with soldiers nearby to help you if you fail to comply, as
>>> Orwell 'predicts' in "1984"?
Jerry Baker replied:
>>
>> I fail to see a connection between state-coerced exercise and the
>> prohibition of mutilating pets for your own amusement.

Well, the way the law is REPORTED -- tails not to be docked for esthetic 
reasons -- could be described that way; although on the grand scale of 
things to worry about, I think it's a bit silly to make such a fuss over 
procedures which do not appear to cause any sort of suffering if done 
correctly. I AM grateful that the article doesn't report a ban on 
neutering, which falls rather more into the arena of 
mutilation-for-amusement (or at least convenience).

However, I'd wonder if the actual law does distinguish from docking for 
esthetic reasons and docking for practical reasons. And how exactly law 
enforcers and judges are supposed to determine motivation!

Banning goldfish bowls does make some sense; they are very seldom humane 
(possibly for small and solitary fish like Bettas or paradise fish, but 
even they should have a minimum amount of finroom) and frequently cause 
detectable suffering, damage, and early death. However, they are never 
well aquascaped (lack of room) and so I'm not sure they're any more on 
topic than the dogs are!

The goldfish in my little lake do indeed tear up the garden, but Papasan 
(a koi) could not in fact be persuaded to bite a stranger at all! I found 
this amusing and very educational, since he is extremely "mouthy" with me. 
I tried to have some fun with a friend by daring her to put her hand in 
the pond, which she did; and the fish floated back and regarded said hand 
with palpable distrust!

Around my house we have a term for aquascaping goldfish and koi tanks: 
Salad Bar.

Elizabeth Naime
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