Jailed for Selling a Goldfish?
By Dr. Ann
@drannhh (15219)
United States
March 31, 2010 12:54am CST
Here is a story about an elderly woman who owned an operated a pet store for 28 years and was arrested and put on curfew with an electronic tag for selling a goldfish to a 14 year-old boy.
Her fine was $1K but the prosecution cost 20 times that much.
What do you think of this story?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1262250/Pet-shop-owner-sold-goldfish-boy-hauled-court-ordered-wear-electronic-tag.html
Apparently the maximum punishment for the "crime" of selling a goldfish to a child was the same as a man was sentenced to for committing an assault upon a young girl. I guess these authorities put a higher value on a goldfish than on a human girl.
It is legal for an adult to buy a dozen goldfish to feed his snake, but not legal for a teenager to buy one goldfish to raise as a pet. My, my. This story might make me gloomy until Monday, but by then hopefully more people will post happy stories here to help beat the monday blues!
3 people like this
9 responses
@zed_k4 (17589)
• Singapore
31 May 11
OK dannhh , I'm so sorry I read this one year later but this is just ridiculous. I don't think there's any law like that here , so it's quite astonishing to know. Yeah , about that snake thingy ....buying fishes to feed them , just don't see the logic at all.
1 person likes this
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
29 May 11
Hi. drannhh. I think that it is very ridiculous that she was charged. I just think that from now on, she should ask the kids their ages. But you know, even if she did, this young teen would have still lied to her. Sometimes that happens. She was at fault, and then again she was not at fault. The police found a few of the animals in her shop neglected so that means that they wanted her to go to jail. They made sure of that too. Her fine was just too expensive and the court fees too. Community service and wearing the tag for two whole months would have been a better punishment.
1 person likes this
@desertdarlene (8910)
• United States
31 Mar 10
Well, there is a law against selling pets to children under 16 unless they are accompanied by a parent and she DID break the law. Also, she's a pet shop owner, so she knew better.
She wasn't really jailed, from what I read, but forced to perform community service and wear an electric tag for two months, which really isn't terribly harsh, though a bit unreasonable since she's not in danger of hurting someone. I do think the fine is a bit high, but as a pet shop owner, she really should have known better.
Personally, I think the law is stupid because I used to buy pet fish since I was about 10 years old and no one got hurt, not even the fish.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
12 Jul 10
How long did your goldfish live? If no harm came to them, you should have them for about 20 years or more depending on what type of goldfish you had.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
31 Mar 10
This is ridiculous! Sometimes, I feel, we do much ado about nothing and the things that really need attention and correction slip off! I can feel for Ms Higgins.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
31 Mar 10
I think the authorities were being rather hypocritical, because it is apparently not against the law to feed goldfish to a snake. There are several videos online showing this. Here is one of them (WARNING: Please do not view this video if you object to scenes of violence)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vZL3-da5_M
One viewer points out that a diet of goldfish is not only not good for the fishies, but harmful to the snake!
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
12 Jul 10
There is what we call feeder fish and feeder mice. In actuality there is really no difference other than they were rai8sed to be food.
1 person likes this
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
27 Jun 10
She didn't talk to him about fish care. Goldfish need a lot of space. They are filthy fish. A baby goldfish needs at least 10 gallons of water. She also had an injured bird in the shop that hadn't seen a vet. No excuse for that one. The bird should have gone to the vet immediately and not wait because she has some other priority on her mind.
The selling to a minor is just the icing on the cake. It's what they could legally get her on. I'd prosecute over the bird, myself. Unless it just happened that morning and she has called her vet for an appointment later in the day, she is negligent in the birds care.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
12 Jul 10
I agree with you about the bird! However, I do think the boy's parents should be responsible for teaching him how to care for the goldfish -- if they were going to allow him to keep it. If the boy had been 11 or younger that might have been a big deal to, but I think 14 is old enough to know better than to go buy an animal without his parent's permission.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
12 Jul 10
If it were a beta or a molly or a guppy or any other cheep fish, I'd agree, but a goldfish needs a huge tank. That runs into a lot of money.
I kept a dozen guppies in a 10 gallon tank. 2 guppies or a beta can survive in a cheep 1 gallon tank quite nicely. A $10 set up will do for them.
1 small goldfish needs 10 gallons to start. Within 2 years he will need 20 gallons, then even bigger. Eventually he will need to go to a pond. We are talking major money and space here. Were talking $100 minimum investment.
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
31 Mar 10
Hi drannhh! That is the most ridiculous thing that I have
ever heard! What kind of government do they have that they
can be so stupid to compare two crimes that are totally at
the opposite ends of any "crime" list! Selling a goldfish
is not even a crime! I just can't believe how awful this is!
Now I am outraged and depressed that anyone could even think
that this woman committed a crime to begin with and to sentence
her to such an extreme form of punishment to equal a man
committing an assault on a young girl! And I thought we here
in the US were crazy!
1 person likes this
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
31 Mar 10
We used to have some pretty absurd laws in the US too and some may still be on the books.
I think there is a California law stating that "No vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour." I wonder if they will arrest the car since the owner is NOT driving it. Another says a woman cannot drive a car in a housecoat. RFLOL. I guess it is ok if she takes it off and drives?
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
31 Mar 10
This is ridiculous! Sometimes, I feel, we do much ado about nothing and the things that really need attention and correction slip off! I can feel for Ms Higgins.
! I don't understand why they would fine her for such a trivial matter
! Like her son said, it looks like they could find better things to do with their tax money than this