Mum calls on council to end ‘cruel’ prizes
A HORRIFIED mum has called on councillors to ban a South Shields fairground from handing out goldfish at stalls.
South Tyneside Council has agreed to “look into [the issue] further” after one parent claimed she saw live fish on offer in tanks and buckets at the ‘Toy Factory’ stall in the Ocean Beach Pleasure Park.
Mum Sue Ramiro Ibanez visited the fairground in August, while on holiday in South Shields with her family.
“When I first saw it I felt a mixture of shock and disappointment. I couldn’t believe this was still going on,” she said.
She said her two children, aged nine and 10, were instantly shocked by the idea of people “playing a game to win a fish”, calling it “really bad”.
“They had never seen it before and immediately knew it was wrong,” she added.
Branding the offer of fish as prizes a “cruel and outdated practice”, Sue, 45, called on South Tyneside Council to regulate it in the borough.
It’s legal in England and Wales to offer animals as prizes, so long as they’re not given to anyone under the age of 16 who isn’t accompanied by an adult.
But councils can enforce a local ban - this week, North Hertfordshire District Council banned giving pets as prizes within its jurisdiction.
Sue said: “I realise it is not against the law but whilst common sense prevails it’s clearly cruel for animals to be given as prizes especially in a funfair environment.
“I understand the local authority can introduce a code of conduct within their licensing laws and I urged them to do just that to eliminate the suffering of these goldfish.”
The RSPCA is also officially opposed to offering live animals as a prize as new owners can’t be properly vetted and often haven’t planned to get a new pet on that occasion. The charity said in a document: “Whatever conditions the prize-giver attempts to impose (if any) these are inadequate to secure the future well-being of an animal.”
A spokesman for the Council said: “We recognise that some members of the public may be upset by this practice and will look into this further.”
A request for contact with the operators the Toy Factory stall did not receive a response.