Goldfish in the news

[Dark Phoenix]

One small step for humans, one giant step (swim?) for goldfish....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040723/od_afp/afplifestyle_italy_animals&e=5

--
Laurie, Dark Phoenix

"It is better to believe, than to disbelieve; in so doing you bring
everything to the realm of possibility."-Albert Einstein.

[blove]

now if only the usa would get a friggin clue


"Dark Phoenix" > wrote in message
...
> One small step for humans, one giant step (swim?) for goldfish....
>
>
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040723/od_afp/afplifestyle_italy_animals&e=5
>
> --
> Laurie, Dark Phoenix
>
> "It is better to believe, than to disbelieve; in so doing you bring
> everything to the realm of possibility."-Albert Einstein.
>
>

[nuchumYussel]

That story has made my day!

Evan Davis

[Geezer From The Freezer]

blove wrote:
>
> now if only the usa would get a friggin clue
>

Seen this story a few days ago. It's also on goldfishparadise forums.
If only the rest of the world would follow suit!

[Gunther]

In article >, says...
>
>
> blove wrote:
> >
> > now if only the usa would get a friggin clue
> >
>
> Seen this story a few days ago. It's also on goldfishparadise forums.
> If only the rest of the world would follow suit!
>

<RANT>
You're dreaming.
Outlawing a piece of hardware as a corrective for human ignorance
is an easy and ultimately ineffective solution. Politicians like
such laws because it allows them to pass the buck off to the
folks charged with enforcing such laws, who will in most cases
just ignore them. So who wins, other than the politicians?
Hmmm..how about the Italian equivalent of Bed Bath and Beyond? Or
are we to assume that Italian pet lovers are too dumb to figure out
that a nice big "flower vase" might work just as well as something
labeled "Goldfish Bowl" (or "ciotola del goldfish" as it might be
called there)?

And I've heard recently that California is due to enact legislation
that will prevent pet shops from selling over-the-counter medications
like penicillin, tetracycline, etc. Apparently the drug industry
doesn't like low-income people having easy access to STD treatments
from PetCo.
No, it's really to protect the makers of the pet meds: they're not
subject to FDA rules, so could easily ship product with lethal
mis-dosages, impurities, or the like. Don't want anyone to get sued!

This is supposed to make you take sick pets to the vet for meds.
Ok, so where does one find a vet that will treat a goldfish for
less than the replacement price of the fish.
This will cause the needless death of millions of inexpensive
pets. And possibly create several new veternary specialties,
but that'll take years.

</RANT>

Gunther, who never really left.

[Donald K]

Gunther wrote:

> And I've heard recently that California is due to enact legislation
> that will prevent pet shops from selling over-the-counter medications
> like penicillin, tetracycline, etc.

I gotta get out of this state.

-D
--
"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem,
see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable
words." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[sophie]

In message >, Gunther
> writes
>In article >, says...
>>
>>
>> blove wrote:
>> >
>> > now if only the usa would get a friggin clue
>> >
>>
>> Seen this story a few days ago. It's also on goldfishparadise forums.
>> If only the rest of the world would follow suit!
>>
>
><RANT>
>You're dreaming.
>Outlawing a piece of hardware as a corrective for human ignorance
>is an easy and ultimately ineffective solution. Politicians like
>such laws because it allows them to pass the buck off to the
>folks charged with enforcing such laws, who will in most cases
>just ignore them. So who wins, other than the politicians?
>Hmmm..how about the Italian equivalent of Bed Bath and Beyond? Or
>are we to assume that Italian pet lovers are too dumb to figure out
>that a nice big "flower vase" might work just as well as something
>labeled "Goldfish Bowl" (or "ciotola del goldfish" as it might be
>called there)?
>
>And I've heard recently that California is due to enact legislation
>that will prevent pet shops from selling over-the-counter medications
>like penicillin, tetracycline, etc. Apparently the drug industry
>doesn't like low-income people having easy access to STD treatments
>from PetCo.

to interject:

in this country (UK) you can't buy over-the-counter antibiotics of any
sort, for what is (as far as I can see) a very sensible reason.
Anti-biotic resistant bacteria are becoming an increasing problem and
many humans believe you can treat almost anything with antibiotics.
Irresponsible self- or pet- medication would almost certainly cause even
bigger problems than we already have (I'm _not_ trying to suggest that
anyone here medicates irresponsibly, btw).

point 2 - I had understood that it was _keeping_ fish in inappropriately
small containers that was to become illegal? Which strikes me as hard to
enforce but quite sane. Hopefully it would mean that pet shops would no
longer sell the small containers to people?
--
sophie

[Donald K]

sophie wrote:

> point 2 - I had understood that it was keeping fish in inappropriately
> small containers that was to become illegal? Which strikes me as hard
> to enforce but quite sane. Hopefully it would mean that pet shops
> would no longer sell the small containers to people?

[RANT]
A "goldfish bowl" is a VERY appropriate size for keeping a betta.

So... It will become illegal to sell a goldfish that's going into a
bowl, but not into an Oscar???

How about the fish store, will it become illegal to keep a couple
hundred feeders in a 100 gallon tank?

I feel for the fish as much as the next guy, comma but, somebody hasn't
thought that law through very well...

I know, I know... mandatory training and licensing for fishkeepers. And
a registration of each fish with the government so they can come to
your house and insure that the fish is being well kept.

Of course that means that home breeding of fish will need to be
outlawed, otherwise the government couldn't insure the registration of
the fish.

And oh yes, those violent aggressive fish? Well... that won't do. We
can't have artificial examples of violence influencing our children.
No, that won't do at all!

We'll outlaw those nasty mean fish.

And don't get us started on the wanton ways of those live-bearers, those
hussys. Wouldn't want the children to see that, bad example you know...
We'll outlaw them too. And those bi-sexual snails? Right, out they go.

Oh, and those pl*cos... They're ugly as sin. No power for good would
have created such an ugly creature, so they must be tools of _evil_ !

We must make the world safe for fish!

-D
--
He who does not oppose evil by all means in his power becomes its
accomplice.

[sophie]

In message >, Donald K
> writes
>sophie wrote:
>
>> point 2 - I had understood that it was keeping fish in inappropriately
>> small containers that was to become illegal? Which strikes me as hard
>> to enforce but quite sane. Hopefully it would mean that pet shops
>> would no longer sell the small containers to people?
>
>[RANT]
>A "goldfish bowl" is a VERY appropriate size for keeping a betta.
>
>So... It will become illegal to sell a goldfish that's going into a
>bowl, but not into an Oscar???

<g>

as I said, I think its the _keeping_ the fish that's the issue, not
selling them. and I'm fairly sure I also said it would be pretty hard to
police. HOWEVER if it does result in LFSs giving customers better advice
about keeping fish and the containers that they need then that can only
be a good thing, surely?

--
sophie