SF Animal Control Commission seeks ban on goldfish

[The Northerner]

San Francisco's ever-active Animal Control and Welfare Commission has renewed its push for a pet sale ban in the city - only this time, it even covers goldfish.

The idea is to put the squeeze on puppy and kitten mills that supply pet stores, and to discourage "impulse buys" of hamsters and other small pets that often wind up being dumped at shelters.

But goldfish, guppies and tropical fish?

"Most fish in aquariums are either mass bred" under inhumane conditions "or taken from the wild," commission member Philip Gerrie said. That leads to "devastation of tropical fish from places like Southeast Asia," he said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/14/BA661JTO52.DTL#ixzz1PMXsmDnR

[roguevalley]

1. I've seen them given to little kids as prizes and I always worry

what happens to the little darlings. Poor fish. I don't have a problem with this. Be responsible or don't have them.

[Maru Kitteh]

8. +1

[EFerrari]

10. When I was little, there was a booth at the church bazaar

that was little goldfish bowls with one fish in them and you had to try to get a ping pong ball in them to win. Poor fish!

[RKP5637]

13. I imagine a lot of them end up with not very pleasant lives and short at that. n/t

[QC]

16. People try to put them in those silly bowls, where they die from ammonia poisoning.

As I said below, goldfish are probably among the most abused animals among us. I have been keeping them for years, and I have found them to be pretty smart (for fish) and very charming.

[Rhiannon12866]

15. +2

Me, too... :(

[Raine]

18. I agree, I don't like to see fish as prizes

poor fish probably don't even make it home or into a nice tank where they can get something to eat. Poor little things. :-(

edit: changed one word

[Newsjock]

2. If goldfish are outlawed in SF

... then only outlaws will have goldfish in their platform shoes.

[Hugabear]

7. Goldfish don't kill people...

People throwing goldfish at other people kill people

[Angry Dragon]

3. I believe there is a better way to control the sale of pets

[krispos42]

4. Unless they're goldfish with frickin' laser beams on their heads, this guy needs to relax a bit

:eyes:

[idiotgardener]

17. Huh?

[petronius]

5. I always thought most goldfish were feeder fish - as in you fed them to bigger

fish or turtles or snakes or whatever. Does the ACWC want piscivorous pets to die a horrible starvacious death? :shrug:

[MrScorpio]

6. I'm think that this is overreach

Apparently, he doesn't like the fact that some people own fish.

Is there a way to deal with inhumane breeding procedures and the import of threatened species without banning pet fish altogether?


Impuse buys… That shit is going happen regardless… Again, a ban won't stop anything. It'll just drive it underground.

These people need better solutions.

[EFerrari]

9. It won't drive it underground. People can drive to the next county

and buy whatever they want. But, it could slow down impulse buys because that drive would require planning.

[Fumesucker]

12. Impulse buys are almost by definition not "underground"..

You generally have to put forth at least a little effort to find illicit things to buy, they're not out on the counter at the convenience store.

Do you think kids with baggy pants are going to be pushing goldfish on the street corners?

[ErikJ]

11. I rescue feeder Goldfish from Tropical Fish stores

and put them in my ponds in back. Probably 30 or 40 so far.

[QC]

14. Some of my prettiest goldfish came from the feeder tank.

While animal issues and San Francisco give people a chance to let their inner freepers come out and play, there are grounds for this law. Goldfish are treated pretty cruelly, mostly by those who think they can be kept in those silly glass bowls.