Torridge set to ban live animals as prizes

No more clutching onto goldfish at the fairground

Animal lovers in Torridge have cause to celebrate after the district council voted to push ahead with plans to ban animals been given as prizes on council-owned land.

A full Torridge District Council meeting this week voted in favour of Councillor Chris Leather’s (Independent, Northam) motion for a ban.  If it jumps through the final hoop at a community and resources committee no one will be able to leave a fair clutching a goldfish in a bag.

Cllr Leather’s motion is inspired by a nationwide campaign by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). The charity says: “A pet is not a prize or something to be won…Sadly there’s no fun at the fair for animals given away as prizes.”

The RSPCA argues that: “Goldfish are easily stressed and very often, fish that are won as prizes suffer miserably from shock, oxygen starvation or die from changes in water temperature, and many will die before their new owners can even get them home.”

The decision will now go for approval to the council’s community and resources committee, which has control over the council’s land and property.

The council also agreed to write to the government urging a national ban on live animals as prizes.

Cllr Leather’s motion says: “This council is concerned regarding pets given away as prizes via fairgrounds, social media and other channels. We are concerned for the welfare of those animals that are being given away as prizes, and recognise that many incidents of animals being given away as prizes may go unreported each year.”

Speaking ahead of the vote he added: “Because we’re all animal lovers, I think this motion should be voted on and carried through and people shown that this council does take seriously the issue.

“There was a crack made to me this morning that it was about saving goldfish. It’s not just to do with goldfish. It’s about any animal.”

It is already illegal for unaccompanied children under the age of 16 to be given pets as prizes in England and Wales. The RSPCA wants the ban extended to cover every situation and age group.  An outright ban, such as the one proposed in Torridge, is already in place in Scotland.