elbow bent as fingers gingerly hold a ping-pong ball poised for the money shot. The bucket of balls is down to one and the silent mantra is; nothing but net.
After a few bounces off the glass rims of a dozen bowls, the ball settles in one filled with bright blue water. IT'S A WIN!
The winner is handed a knotted bag or small plastic container of water and a glimmering, swimming, unblinking little fish. A goldfish.
The little fair goldfish has undergone many changes throughout the decades. Practices that were deemed unsafe and unfair to the fish (i.e. putting an actual little fish into the tiny bowls of colored water has been replaced with keeping the goldfish in an aerated, cooled travel tank to swim freely until they are going to their new owner.) Still, there are those seeking to eliminate the winning of goldfish. Opponents of the fair fish obviously want what is best for the fish.
But is that what what really IS BEST for the fish?
Firstly, carnival and fair won fish are classified as common or "feeder" goldfish. They are bred for food for people's carnivorous pets. Some of these "feeder" fish are lucky enough to be scooped up at big box pet supply stores and go home to ponds or even residents of livestock water troughs as they eat mosquito larvae. But most are purchased to be fed live to carnivorous pets such as reptiles and larger fish.
That practice is less than humane for the goldfish.
- Carnivorous pets do not dispatch their prey as swiftly as their wild counterparts. They don't have to. Their prey can't get away.
- The feeder goldfish is often dropped into the pet's water bowl and stays there until plucked as a snack. Sometimes minutes and sometimes days, feeder fish are subject to toxic chlorinated tap water; which is of course deadly to them. The water bowl is not aerated. This means if the fish doesn't get eaten soon, they are left to struggle to breath in oxygen-poor water.
So why win a "feeder" fish at a fair when you could just buy one at the pet store. Because guess what? You can't. Today in America, pressure from activist groups has resulted in chain pet supply stores to either NOT sell small common goldfish or FORBID THE SALE of feeder fish as pets.
As strange as that policy seems it is important to understand that the pet supply chains are just trying to avoid negative pressure from activist groups. The story told is that the little goldfish sold as a pet is doomed to a painful and miserable existence as the new owner is uneducated, will only buy a tiny bowl for the fish and subsequently kill it with ignorance or neglect.
You can test this for yourself. Walk into a chain pet supply store that sells fish, select one fish from the feeder fish tank and ask to buy that one fish for a pet. The answer will be NO. Most likely, you will be steered towards a fancy goldfish that, ironically, is more fragile and difficult to care for than the common goldfish and therefore, is more likely to perish.
Is the pet supply store a bad guy? No. Is the activist a bad guy? No. Is it ok that these little feeder fish do not get a chance to live to be up to twenty years old and help their new owner develop a love for caring for a beautiful creature? Also no.
And then there are those "feeder" fish acquired for the Win-a-Fish Booth. Swimming in a giant, aerated cooler under the counter; this sturdy little fish, won by chance, is available to swim into our lives and ignite an interest in learning to care for and admire something so different from ourselves.
This little fish, with just a few, inexpensive items purchased at a Walmart or Target, will beguile its new owner with its curiosity and intelligence.
This little fish will open the door to the satisfaction of practicing good pet stewardship.
This little fish will outgrow home after home and become up to ten times his/her original size.
This little fish, with the help of a global community of people that care passionately about his/her care, will have a wonderful life; enriching the lives of his fair-going friend who by skill or by chance, landed that little ping-pong ball in that tiny glass bowl all those years ago.
If you would like to help these little fish get a great start on a new life, be sure to share MYFAIRFISH with the "winners" you meet at the fair. We have a quick start guide with a short, inexpensive shopping list that will help them start out right!
We want to share and celebrate these little wonders. You are invited to join our facebook group: My Fair Goldfish and ask questions and share your success and pride.
Thank you for reading. We care about these little fish and we know you do to! Goldfish won at fairs are amazing... So lets KEEP them that way!
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| Ferris, my 10 year old Fair Fish swims up into his glass sunroom (an inverted giant jar he can swim up into at will) enjoying the afternoon sun. Who says goldfish aren't personable or smart? |
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