RSPCA praises New Forest District Council after it bans live animals being given as prizes

THE RSPCA has praised New Forest District Council for banning live animals being given as prizes on land it owns.

As reported in the A&T, Cllr Derek Tipp, who represents the Ashurst, Copythorne South & Netley Marsh ward, was the first to raise the animal cruelty concerns at a council meeting last October.

He was concerned about the number of cases reported to the RSPCA each year regarding pets being given as prizes, mainly goldfish, such as at fairgrounds and via social media.

The motion was officially agreed at a meeting of the full council last month, and the ban imposed.

Cllr Tipp told the A&T he was “delighted” the measure had been approved.

He said: “A resident contacted me and asked me to put the motion forward, and I agreed with it as we don’t want to be doing that sort of thing.”

He added he was pleased that NFDC planned to write to the government urging for an outright ban as well as local town and parish councils to ask them to consider following suit.

He added: “They have really got behind it.”

There are now 45 local authorities in England and Wales which have banned the practice on their land.

The RSPCA has been running its own campaign against it, and welcomed NFDC’s action.

Lee Gingell, the charity’s public affairs manager for local government in England, said: “We very much welcome New Forest District Council’s important step for animal welfare in their community.

“There really is a strength of feeling about this issue and it’s great to see local authorities across England and Wales doing their bit to raise awareness and prevent this practice from happening on their land.”

He added: “Sadly, despite many believing it is a thing of the past, we too often hear of instances of pets being given out as prizes.

“But animal ownership is a big responsibility and while goldfish can make great companions, they shouldn’t be acquired via a spur-of-the-moment game.

“Goldfish are easily stressed and very often fish that are won as prizes suffer miserably from shock, oxygen starvation or die from changes in water temperature and many may die before their new owners can get them home.”

Mr Gingell said that while goldfish make great companions they can be challenging to look after and new owners should do their research before they acquire fish, with tanks set up weeks in advance.

A tank should be set up at least two weeks in advance, he added, which is not possible when winning a fish unexpectedly.