Good News for Goldfish!

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Rome bans 'cruel' goldfish bowls

Last Updated Wed, 26 Oct 2005 11:05:20 EDT

CBC News

Round goldfish bowls are out and daily dog walks are in for all law-abiding citizens of Rome.

City councillors in the Italian capital voted on Tuesday to ban spherical goldfish bowls, saying it's in the best interest of the fish.

Proibito !

Rome's daily newspaper Il Messaggero reported that round bowls cause fish to go blind. Animal activists call the bowls cruel, while fish experts say the bowls don't provide enough oxygen.

The bylaw also prohibits giving away goldfish or other animals as prizes.

"The civilization of a city can also be measured by this," city councillor Monica Cirinna told the newspaper.

Rome also followed in the footsteps of the northern Italian city of Turin, making it the law for dog owners to exercise their dogs daily. Failure to comply could cost dog owners a fine of $700.

The Roman bylaw also prevents animal owners from clipping dogs' tails or trimming cats' claws for visual appeal or leaving animals in hot vehicles or store windows. It also offers legal protection to people who feed colonies of cats.

[SevenSeasJim]

I actually heard that you have to walk your dog 3 times /day. And cutting off tails for looks is pathetic.

[bouche]

It's pretty funny to see Abbey's little nub go all crazy when she's excited, but I can't believe someone cut her tail off. I don't understand how people came up with the idea that some dogs should have their tails chopped and others not.

[Birdy]

i wonder who polices such laws?

like seriously, "sir, we have a search warrant under the premises that your neighbour said you had a round fish bowl, do you mind stepping aside?"...

[SevenSeasJim]

Or...you only walked your dog twice today...no soup for you.

[Ms.Huxtable]

I think there's a toll-free number that the dogs and fish call to report their negligent owners.

[headymamamyrna]

I think there's a toll-free number that the dogs and fish call to report their negligent owners.

I had to call this toll free number to report you as the owner of a dog called Abbey for allowing her to move the sprinkler closer to the deck so she could soak me!!!

[dJEd]

so, can you still crop dog's ears then?

[Douglas]

What about the guppies?

If I wasn't allowed to clip Sammy's claws then I'd be spending an aweful lot of money on bandaids. But I would never EVER have him declawed. So aweful.

[Thorgnor]

You guys really think that leaving the tail on a Great Dane or Irish Wolfhound is a good idea?

Think about a 200 + lb dog hitting you in the head with its tail. Now imagine being 2 years old and the same thing happening.

Ears though? Can't see a safety issue there.

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

I remember there being a thing in Thailand where people would bust up cats' tails. Just for effect - I never heard a deeper reason than that. I do remember seeing lots of cats with crinkly tails.

This could dovetail with a discussion about circumcision, but I'm not going anywhere near that one.

But as for the tails, again, I'm glad I'm big enough that if somebody came at me with a pair of pruning shears to lop off a piece of my spine, I'd have something to say about it.

[timouse]

You guys really think that leaving the tail on a Great Dane or Irish Wolfhound is a good idea?

Think about a 200 + lb dog hitting you in the head with its tail. Now imagine being 2 years old and the same thing happening.

Ears though? Can't see a safety issue there.

i lived with 2 great danes for a year, and took many a whack from a mighty tail, not to mention my ill advised attempt to "play" with one of them that send me flying across the yard...

if you want a big dog, they have big tails. deal with it...

[Douglas]

and if you want a smaller pet...say, a cat...deal with the fact that he/she can get super-fat and like to walk on your boobs in the middle of the night.

[Birdy]

and if you have a wee little insy binsy gold fish, maybe, just maybe, one day he'll go blind.

c'est la vie.

Edited October 27, 2005 by Guest