On September 6th Springdale plans to host their annual “goldfish swim”. During this chaotic event, approximately 1,000 goldfish will be poured into a community swimming pool, where children 12 and under must catch them with their bare hands, no nets, no buckets or help from Mum and Dad in the hope of taking them home. Being dumped into a pool filled with frantic children grabbing at them would obviously be a horrific ordeal for these tiny animals, who view nearly everything as a predator - and exposure to trace amounts of chlorine can cause them to experience respiratory distress. Furthermore, because fish can transmit bacteria such as E. coli, such events pose a risk to the children, too. Back to the fish, when children grab the goldfish it damages their protective coat of slime that covers their scales. This means that if the goldfish later on scrapes against something in their fish tank they could get very badly injured. These tiny beings are not just commodities for children to collect, they are sensitive and complex individuals that feel joy, pain and fear just as we humans do. These animals need our help now!

You can help save these goldfish by signing and sharing this petition and emailing Doyle Webster (mayor of Springdale) at dwebster@springdale.org or  https://www.icrctv.com/contact

facts and photo courtesy of: peta.org