Have you heard the old wives rhyme, There was an old woman who swallowed a fly, I don’t know why she swallowed a fly, but no one knows where it came from or if its true… well a new one I heard this week was There was an old tree surgeon who swallowed a goldfish, I don’t know why he swallowed a goldfish.
The tree surgeon decided at a fun fair that he would swallow his girlfirends prize fish that she had just won and wash it down with half a pint. His girlfriend filmed the incident and then posted the video onto social media primarily her snapchat story with the caption “He ate my fish”.
Snapchat Video
The snapchat video was a 14 second clip that showed the tree surgeon holding the very real and live fish in his palm before he then put it in his mouth and swallowed the fish and then taking a large swig of his beer.
At the end of the video you can then see him opening his mouth to show the viewers that the fish has gone and he sticks his tongue out to prove that he has swallowed the innocent live animal whole.
The video was filmed in Bridgewater Carnival in Somerset in September. Once the video had been shared it spread very fast and was then reported to the RSPCA by all the concerned viewers.
The Tree Surgeon was named as Josh Coles from Devon. He was ordered to appear at Exeter Magistrates court where he then admitted to a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a project animal, he initially denied the charge, but changed his plea to guilty to avoid the trial. The magistrate stated that the goldfish would have experienced stress and unnecessary suffering as it was eaten alive with no other outcome than dead.
He was fined £300 with an £85 victim surcharge. Considering the victim is now a deceased goldfish, it does beggar the question of who does the surcharge go to?
There was an old tree surgeon who swallowed a goldfish and then entered denial
Coles tried to deny that any animal had been harmed and stated that it was just a stunt for social media and he hadn’t swallowed it. He then claimed that the fish which had been won at the fair was already half dead.
Fish are a traditional prize that can be won at the fair on many of the different game stalls. The fish usually come with a small plastic fish tank, stones and fish food. All fish that are won at the fairground have been properly looked after in the weeks leading up to the fair coming to town. The favoured prize by many of the kids who visit the fair love winning a pet. It is a horror that a grown adult would then find fun in this by swallowing it.
The outcome is that goldfish are now banned from being given out as prizes at Bridgewater fair. As just handing them out in plastic bags without any checks isn’t an acceptable way to do things. Strangely, having bought fish a number of times for our office aquarium, they have always been handed over in plastic bags without any checks in whether I have a suitable tank or know how to care for them.
Different rules for different people I suppose.