Should Wales ban goldfish as prizes?

Local TV

It’s already been outlawed by every local authority in Wales, so any events on public land are barred from offering goldfish or any live animals as prizes, but that’s not the case for private land. RSPCA Cymru want to see the practised stopped entirely and call on the public to do their part.

Transcript

00:00Just like cats, just like dogs, you know, they have their own personalities, they have their own needs.

00:06So, yeah, you know, it is obviously some attitude changing that's perhaps needed there,

00:11but then obviously, you know, we can only do that through educating.

00:14And then, you know, many people are usually surprised to find out that the giving of goldfish is still legal,

00:19it's something that's associated with a thing of the past.

00:22The summer months are upon us, so fairs and carnivals will be dotted around the country,

00:25with rides and games offering prizes.

00:28The RSPCA wants to make sure that none of those prizes are animals.

00:32It's a bit of a tradition to win a goldfish at the fair, but as Billie Jade says,

00:36it feels a bit out of date and wants to encourage people around Wales to be a part of outlawing the practice.

00:42You know, some people obviously are, they like the idea of winning a fish and think,

00:46oh great, I can get, you know, a new pet, you know, especially children, of course,

00:50you can understand the appeal there.

00:52But it's just obviously the welfare implications of that are probably not being thought about,

00:58or perhaps not as obvious to everyone, to some people as they would be to others.

01:01So even though it might seem like a great idea at the time and an exciting thing to do,

01:05which it is exciting to get a new pet, obviously then you could imagine the upset if obviously that does go wrong as well.

01:12So obviously as well as protecting animal welfare, you know, it's protecting, you know,

01:16children from those circumstances where they're excited to get a new pet and then,

01:19you know, they lose them before they even can get them home and get them, you know, into a setting.

01:25The reality is that it's hard to uphold decent animal welfare standards when goldfish are awarded as prizes.

01:31They're sat in bags for hours on end, sometimes out in the sun.

01:34And then of course, a parent who just went out for the day to the fair wasn't necessarily expecting their little one

01:39to win a live animal who needs somewhere to live.

01:42Unfortunately, we see animal welfare compromised in these situations.

01:47Often fish die before their new owners can even get home, get them home.

01:52And obviously because of the nature of winning a pet as a prize, there's no kind of room for preparation.

02:01And, you know, we'd always recommend that anyone that acquires a fish would have a setup ready for them

02:06and have all of the relevant provisions in place.

02:08And of course, when you win a fisher or, you know, another animal as a result of a spirit of a moment game, this is impossible.

02:15The Welsh government have floated the idea of an outright ban in the past, according to Billie Jade,

02:19and she'd like to see this implemented in the future.

02:22The RSPCA will be releasing a manifesto for the upcoming Senate election that they want parties to adhere to.

02:27So there's hope that it will become the law at some stage.

02:30It's a bit of a difficult one through a lack of evidence.

02:33You know, everything the Welsh government does has to be backed by evidence, of course.

02:36We're asked to provide evidence.

02:38And while we do get, you know, X amount of reports about this year with many sort of, you know,

02:43some of these fears and fates are travelling.

02:45It's obviously a very seasonal thing as well.

02:48So perhaps because of those various issues, it hasn't been prioritised by the Welsh government.

02:52But we have received support for such measures within the Senate.

02:56I think we had the issue raised in the Senate.

02:58It was last year, if not the year before.

02:59And we have the pitchers on the Senate.

03:00And so, let's do it.

03:01And so, if you look at this, if you look at this, if you look at it, it's interesting.

03:03But this is the case for the Chinese government.

03:05So let's think of this.

03:06You're going to see that there are kind of a way behind it.

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