Nemo Insanity

[Quinn]

some of you may have seen the thread on RC about an LFS on the eastern seabord who's owner took off, leaving the doors off, and no one to take care of the fish. last i checked it had been a month and still nothing. i'm sure by that time everything was dead. the SPCA down there didn't want to have a thing to do with it. no one would even open the doors to allow local reefers to go in and clean up, feed, etc.

also i don't know how the SPCA would define this as cruelty to animals. it's less clear cut than a dog being kicked by its owner. how do you prove a 20 gallon is too small for a regal tang. and especially in alberta, i feel that the government authorities have a mandate that dictates business before little guy, which is the reason why my work, while breaking numerous safety laws, is never written up by the inspectors (and they do visit) - because we're contributing to the economy. i don't know if this would really apply to LFSs, but i still don't think anyone out there cares about fish in the long run other than aquarists (and only those of them/us who consider themselves to be educated).

here's to hoping that the lay idea that saltwater fish are near impossible to keep stands strong in the face of aggressive marketing.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by Jack

Wierd how an animal is or isn't labled an animal by who knows who. Kind of a botched system. What's the point of an SPCA that only deals with half the bunch.

Yeh, I dont understand it.
Let me know if there is any nemo games being played at any LFS

[Delphinus]

I just can't beleive people. Are they not watching the movie?? The whole point of the story is that they go rescue "Nemo" from an aquarium.

I don't know whether I think this is sad, or sickening.

[Samw]

Originally Posted by reef_raf

Just curious, but have the SPCA started to consider fish animals? Are they really going to do anything? If so, where were they with the aqua-baby rage???

FYI. In university in 1990, a couple of friends and I each bought a siamese fighting fish with the intent to put them together to see what they would do without letting them kill each other of course.

Someone in the dorm overheard this and sent the SPCA after us. To my surprise, they came and confiscated one of the fish and then told that friend that the 1 gallon bowl was too small for the fish. Funniest thing. They don't think much of every pet shop that keep them in 1/4 cup of water but they'll consider 1 gallon of water to be cruel.

Fish farms house thousands of fish in tiny ponds. Those fish in nature swim thousands of miles yet no one seems to make a big stink that they are kept in tiny ponds packed so tightly that you can't see the bottom of the pond.

[naesco]

I think it would be good publicity for the SPCA to raid a LFS which was unethically using Nemo to the detriment of the fish.
High profile gives more donations and Nemo will be high profile for a while.
What do you think?

[Jack]

I'd hate to be a Hippo tang in any fish store anywhere Not to mention clownfish

[Beverly]

Originally Posted by Jack

Wierd how an animal is or isn't labled an animal by who knows who. Kind of a botched system. What's the point of an SPCA that only deals with half the bunch.

I worked for the Alberta SPCA a number of years ago. They, as all SPCAs and humane societies, rely on public donations to operate, so if you're not a regular contributor to, or member of, your local humane society, you don't have a right to complain about what they do or don't do

That being said, here is the The Animal Protection Act of Alberta:

http://www.albertaspca.org/APA.HTM

And here is the current Criminal Code of Canada deal with cruelty to animals:

http://www.albertaspca.org/criminalcode.htm

SPCA and humane society constables can only enforce the laws of the land. Those laws are only created or amended at the request of people like us. However, as it states at the top of the Criminal Code of Canada page, it's taken 20 years to make amendments to the CC of C with regard to cruelty to animals and that has only happened by continuous lobbying by humane societies across the country

Jack, I was reading our local newspaper the other week that someone had discovered that fish feel pain. So if the prevailing attitude has always been that that fish don't physically sense pain, how the heck can we be cruel to them!??!!!

Anyway, I think humans are such a screwed up species because it's us that create the need for SPCAs in the first place

[ron101]

I think the unfortunate reality is that like personal safety, humanity comes first... Except of course if money or profits come into play.

So if you are an end consumer having purchased a betta for $2.50, the SPCA is more than happy to scrutinize and confiscate since you will have to buy a new one. On the other hand they wouldn't want to step on any retail stores' toes since they might lose profits and have grounds for litigation.

[Beverly]

Originally Posted by ron101

So if you are an end consumer having purchased a betta for $2.50, the SPCA is more than happy to scrutinize and confiscate since you will have to buy a new one.

I seriously doubt any local SPCA would ever do any such thing

[Samw]

Originally Posted by Beverly

I seriously doubt any local SPCA would ever do any such thing

Sorry Bev. It really did happen. They came to our dorm, asked for us by name and located my friend who was so shocked that he decided to just give the fish up. When I returned to the dorm and found out about it, I was shaking my head disbelieving that they would actually do that. Since I wasn't there, they didn't enter my room and so were unable to take mine.

Like I said, it was the funniest thing and its a story that I keep telling people over and over at parties when I want to talk about stupid events. It's just a fish and unless they were going to charge me in court, I wouldn't have let them take the fish if they did find me in the dorm that day.