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Goldfish will no longer be fairground prizes
Monday 24th May 2010, 12:36PM BST.
Goldfish will no longer be given as prizes at a Shropshire May fair after organisers received complaints from people concerned they were being handed out to winners.
A concerned resident wrote to Ludlow Town Council condemning the handing out of live fish in bags as prizes at the May fair this month.
Fair organisers today said that although they can legally give goldfish as prizes, they no longer would because of the concerns.
The anonymous letter, presented at the town’s annual meeting last week, said: “The nature and content of the fair will have changed with the times and it will continue to evolve to meet current fashions in entertainment.
“I also believe it should evolve to keep abreast of current thinking on the welfare of sentient beings. I hope that for the future a stipulation can be placed on the May fair organisers that no live creatures be given away as prizes from any stall in a fair. I think it does nothing for Ludlow’s image for adults and children to be walking through the streets swinging small plastic bags containing goldfish in a minimum of water.”
Fair organiser David Wynn said today he had not been in contact with the council, but it would not be a problem to resolve the issue.
Mr Wynn said: “It has been dealt with, it won’t happen again. The Government says we are allowed to do it, but if somebody complains about it, we won’t.”
Town councillor John Aitken, who chaired the May fair sub-committee said the council held meetings in the lead-up to the fair, and had asked everyone involved to comment. He said: “The sense from letters and comments is that people are not comfortable with goldfish being offered as prizes.”
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THIS IS PC NONESENSE fish dont feel any pain they have a brain the size of a pea, what is the problem with this, i cannot believe it i have so many memories of winning fish at fayres as a kid, good memories, harmless memories.
this government is so totally beaurocratic and politically correct its unreal, no doubt this is some EU Directive implemted by their socialist stooges in local government who are all animal rights activists and socialists
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Edward,
Didn’t you read the article? Firstly there was no mention of any government activity nor of the EU. Also the last sentence says ‘Fair organisers today said that although they can legally give goldfish as prizes…etc.’
So there you are – it’s still legal to give goldfish as prizes, and no-one has put any legal pressure on the fair organisers to ban it. They just banned it entirely of their own volition because they felt it was probably a bit cruel.
Oh, and the government changed a couple of weeks ago – you were obviously too busy searching for opportunities for self-righteous indignation to have noticed!
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oh dear someone doesnt check their spelling – fairground, or gound shropshire star?
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Curses! I’ve changed it now.
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Also, is it FAYRE or FAIR?
Incidentally, I met my wife at a summer Fayre –
I think it was Fete!
P.S. I won a goldfish and it died!
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I think Edward’s having a little right wing rant. I wonder if he’s even aware the government has changed recently – is he talking about THIS government or THAT government?
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There you have it, anything that Edward has “good memories” of is officially good. Did an error occur on this site which prevented his link to evidence that “fish don’t feel any pain” from appearing. I have no view one way or another on this subject but I do get the feeling that all of Edward’s arguments in his life involve railing against “PC nonsence” and “socialists” (the latter being something he clearly hasn’t got a clue about)
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actually ed fish do feel pain..also the water in the bags is tap water which is harmfull to fish because of the chlorine etc so whilst cramped up hanging in a tiny bag they are slowly being poisoned to death hardly humane is it??
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whY, whats wrong with it ? stupid animal rights activists
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gg… see above! is not about animal rights goldfish at fairs is just plain cruelty
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Indeed! Look at the face of the fish in picture above. It looks terrified!!
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May I just point out that the fish used in the picture is a professional model and he was not harmed in any way.
(Well, not that he’d remember if he was.)
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haha!
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If you hook a duck these days you can win an edward simpson..
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All animals have pain receptors which are linked to the Fight or flight response Obviously Edward has no compassion about an animals welfare,
This Goverment/that Goverment :)
So gg animals have no rights?
i suppose you advocate Fox hunting/badger baiting after all they are only aninals,
i must be a socialist for such thoughts not ! believe me i lean almost too far right.
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I remember winning a couple of goldfish at a fair in Bridgnorth. We rehomed them in the garden pond, where they both grew to giant proportions (for goldfish), lived to a ripe old age and had several broods of little fishlets.
Despite that, I still think it’s the right decision. They’re hardly an appropriate prize, are they?
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I think it’s a good decision. Hardly a good example to children giving them pets in plastic bags and it is an archaic rite. Besides the kids want a Nintendo DS, not a treat for the cat!
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haha sorry i need to be a proof reader!!
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in 1950 i used to love to go down to frankwell showground to pat collins fair and admire the old lorries and buses, roundabouts and sideshows. yes i won a goldfish and they came in a little glass bowl. i kept that fish for 2 or 3 years in a tank and added 2 more. incidentally the china ware given as prizes then are sought after now as antiques.
and i enjoyed bertram mills circus there as well. the world has gone pc mad. in the 1950′s i used to enjoy the ludlow may fair in the streets. heaven help ludlow council if they cut back the ludlow mayfair
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My cat always appreciated the goldfish prizes when I was young. But then again, my dog always appreciated the stuffed toys.
Take your pick. Apparently you can’t please everyone.
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It’s Graham Norton!
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seems ott to me, animal rights people are like islamic facists, people are too scared to say no your views are wrong and you’r mad, we should be bolder and stand up to these nutters
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goldie looks fair gobsmacked by it all
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Personally I’m all in favour of this. If a grandmother can be threatened with jail and fined ridiculous amounts of money for selling a fish to an under age child (albeit almost by entrapment) then why should fairgrounds be permitted to dish them out like candy? Fish may well feel tremendous fear and/or pain but as none of us are fish how would we know for certain? I wouldn’t care to be kept in such a tiny space for God knows how long with limited air supply, no food and suffer horrendous trauma. I’m no animal rights activist, but I’m a living creature with feelings.
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this is madness
people come first, goldfish dont have rights
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New world order. Goldfish will rule the world. Humans will have no rights.
Careful what you say, you’ll be on the list. Be afraid.
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Lets stick GG and Edward in a small bag and see how they like it!!!!!
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its only a fish
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This humane and progressive decision by the Ludlow fair organisers is to be welcomed.
I find it encouraging that most people are not comfortable with goldfish being offered as prizes, and I find the compassion, which informs this decision, inspiring.
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yawn
Chips anyone ?
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im glad to see majority agree this is animal cruelty and best gone like fox hunting in the ancient past
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On the related matter of compassion for animals, how comfortable do people feel about the proposed intensive ‘super-dairy’ in Lincolnshire, which is to house 8,100 cows?
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It doesn’t sound good – from what I’ve read about it the cattle will spend the greater part of their lives inside.
I am not a vegetarian but still detest animal cruelty. I’ve often spoken to people who throw their hands up in horror at the idea of eating meat, but are totally unaware of the reality behind much of the dairy industry.
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yeah i agree, eat anything myself but always respect vegans for being proper true to their word, vegetarians who eat eggs and milk and stuff are ignorant of farming methods and hypocrits
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In the case of the battery-cow-farm, which do you think is the most serious, anita d?
The farming methods?
The ignorance of the farming methods?
The hypocrisy?
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this is all PC nonesense dictated by the Health and Safety Directive from Brussells, we must get out of the EU and stop this sillyness now
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agree, fish do have rights, we should live in balance with the mother, nature is our life force we cannot disrespect it and cannot abuse its creatures
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I’m sorry? Fish have what? Rights? What a load of tosh!
They might be a life force for my cat but I reckon that there will be little difference if a few goldfish die.
Unless there is a new concept similar to the Butterfly Effect – The Goldfish Effect!
have a nice weekend hugging trees.
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