I still think about that night at our city’s fair. I saw a crowd forming in a parking lot, walked over, and there was a boy swinging a fish around in a bag and slamming it on hot concrete like this living thing was a joke. People acted like I was the crazy one for yelling, a police officer even rejected my concerns and laughed it off, but in reality, the crazy part was everybody being comfortable watching a small animal get hurt for fun.

That fish was one of those sad fair fish handed out in a bag like a trinket, like a toy, like something disposable. That is exactly the problem. When fairs and carnivals give out live animals as prizes, they create a situation where living creatures are treated like props, passed around by people who are not prepared to care for them and, sometimes, do not care at all. Casual cruelty does not become less cruel because the animal is small.

I'm calling on local fair organizers, carnival operators, and permitting officials to ban live animals as prizes. No more fish in bags, no more treating a living being like something you win and carry off between rides and snacks. If an event cannot guarantee real humane treatment from the first second an animal is handed over, then it should not be giving animals away in the first place.

I took that fish home and gave it a good home, and he lived about a year. He should never have been in that situation to begin with. We cannot keep acting like this is harmless, funny, or just part of fair culture. If you agree that small animals deserve basic dignity and protection, please sign this petition.