Pets being given away as prizes at funfairs will now be banned across Ashfield following a council motion designed to uphold animal welfare.
The practice of “prize pets” was discussed during an Ashfield District Council meeting on Monday.
The motion was proposed by Councillor Vicki Heslop (Ashfield Independents) and seconded by Councillor Smantha Deakin (Ashfield Independents) who both represent the Sutton Central and New Cross wards.
A unanimous vote saw the outright ban on prize pets enacted across all Ashfield Council-owned land.
Prize animals such as goldfish were once common at events such as travelling fairs.
The motion was initially inspired by concerned residents, who contacted the two councillors after they had seen a recent campaign by the RSPCA.
The #NoFunAtTheFair campaign was launched in July, calling for the outdated practice to be completely banned.
The RSPCA is calling on on both the UK Government and Welsh Governments to introduce an outright ban on animals being given as prizes. It is already illegal in Scotland.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Tuesday (September 17), Cllr Deakin (Ind) said: “I think it’s one of those things people assumed was already there.
“I went to Skegness, they had a massive tank that had so many goldfish in- that was a prime example of winning a goldfish.
“People aren’t ready for that if they’re having a game at the fair, that responsibility, that commitment, that cost- if you go to a pet shop you know that you have to have that set up ready.
“People look at it as a goldfish, but it’s alive and breathing and feeling.”
Vice Chairman of the Council, Cllr Paul Grafton (Ashfield Independents), wants residents to understand the ban protects all animals, saying today: “The giving of live animals as prizes, it’s time to stop- the competitions online, you can win a dog, there’s no place for that any more.
“Most of the fair grounds now don’t do that, animal welfare is in everybody’s eyes, its not fair to put an animal in stress.”
Cllr Gordon Mann (Ashfield Independents) told the meeting of a personal story from childhood of finding both of his goldfish dead not long after welcoming a prize goldfish to his tank.
Colin Pawley, 73, has been a travelling showman for around 50 years, owning the Animal Kingdom stall at the Goose Fair. He called the motion “a shame”.
He said: “The first pets children had when I was younger was a goldfish from a fair, it teaches them responsibility.
“The reasoning behind bans is that sometimes they’re abused and we took steps to stop it, where a small child can’t win one, they had to be with an adult.
“We went down the road that the RSPCA want us to go down, to give a leaflet out how to care for them.”
Speaking pf the nostalgia element of prize goldfish, Cllr Grafton added: “I can fully empathise with that, I was a kid that went round fairgrounds, I can see that side of it, but how many are successfully put into tanks or aquariums?
“The concern is that they could spread disease to other fish, it’s a live animal, there’s a lot to do with tradition, but somewhere along the line tradition has to stop.”
Lee Gingell, who leads on the RSPCA’s relationship with local government, in England said: “We all want animals to be treated with respect, and that includes not giving pets away as prizes – so we’re really pleased that Cllrs Vicki Heslop and Samantha Deakin have brought forward this motion.
“There’s still so much more to do – and sadly many goldfish are still at risk, with their welfare hinging on the spur-of-the-moment result of a carnival game. But Ashfield District Council can make a real statement by ending the giving of pets as prizes on their land.
“Goldfish are easily stressed and often, fish won as prizes suffer miserably from shock, oxygen starvation or die from changes in water temperature, and many will die before their new owners even get them home.”
More than 100 local authorities across England and Wales have now banned the practice, with all 22 local authorities in Wales restricting it on their owned land.
Currently, in England and Wales, it is already an offence to give prize pets to anyone under the age of 16 unless they are accompanied by an adult.