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View Full Version : Pet shop owner fined £1,000 and told to wear an electronic tag for selling a GOLDFISH




disorderlyvision
04-02-2010, 04:54 PM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1262250/Great-grandmother-tagged-selling-goldfish.html


Her offence was to unwittingly sell a goldfish to a 14-year-old boy taking part in a trading standards 'sting'.

At most, pet shop owner Joan Higgins, 66, expected a slap on the wrist for breaking new animal welfare laws which ban the sale of pets to under-16s.

Instead, the great-grandmother was taken to court, fined £1,000, placed under curfew - and ordered to wear an electronic tag for two months.

Mark, 47, was also fined and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Last night, as an MP criticised the magistrates, Mrs Higgins - who has run the pet shop for 28 years - said the family's eight-month ordeal had left them traumatised.

She added: 'It's ridiculous. I mean, what danger am I that I have to wear an electronic tag? These last few months have been a very stressful time.'

The seven-week curfew imposed by the court means she is unable to babysit her great-grandson at his home or go to bingo sessions with her sister, and will be unable to attend a Rod Stewart concert after tickets were bought for her by her nephew, actor Will Mellor.

Her son said: 'I think it's a farce. What gets me so cross is that they put my Mum on a tag - she's nearly 70, for goodness' sake.

'She's a great-grandma so she won't be able to babysit a newborn baby. You would think they have better things to do with their time and money.'

Mr Higgins claimed the undercover operation was a clear case of entrapment - when a person is encouraged by someone in some official capacity to commit a crime - and said the case should never have gone to court.

He said: 'The council sent the 14-year-old in to us. It is hard to tell how old a lad is these days. He looked much older than 14.'

He added that his mother almost fainted in the dock when magistrates told her she could go to prison for the offence.

'I told her they wouldn't send her to prison but she was still worried,' he said. 'The only other time she has been in court is when she did jury service.'

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 it is illegal to sell pets - including goldfish - to children under the age of 16 unless they are accompanied by an adult. Pet shops must also provide advice on animal welfare to buyers.

The maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to 12 months, or a fine of up to £20,000, or both.

The Higgins family's ordeal began when council officials heard that Majors Pet Shop in Sale, Greater Manchester, was selling animals to children.

They sent the 14-year-old schoolboy into the shop to carry out a test purchase and Mr Higgins sold him the goldfish without questioning his age or providing any information about the care of the fish.

A council officer in the shop at the time also noticed a cockatiel in a cage that appeared to be in a poor state of health. A vet found the bird had a broken leg and eye problems. It was later put down.

Mrs Higgins and her son were charged with selling the fish to a person aged under 16 and with causing unnecessary suffering to a cockatiel by failing to provide appropriate care and treatment.

Pleading guilty, Mrs Higgins told Trafford magistrates the cockatiel had not been for sale and she had been bathing its eye daily.

She had intended to take it to the vet but had been distracted and worried because her other son was in hospital.

The court heard that Mrs Higgins had possessed a licence to sell animals for many years and had never had any problems before.

She was fined £1,000 and given a community order with a curfew requiring her to stay home between 6pm and 7am for seven weeks.

Mrs Higgins did not have her licence to sell animals removed, but both she and her son were told that if they ever appeared in court for a similar offence they could face a jail sentence.

David Davies, Tory MP for Monmouth, said: 'You simply couldn't make it up. It is absolutely ludicrous that old ladies should be hounded through the courts and electronically tagged for something like this.
Pugh Hes In For Aiding and Abetting.jpg

'At a time when courts are being told not to lock up career burglars we have them issuing severe punishments like this on little old ladies.' Mr Davies, who has served as a special constable for three years, said: 'Not only is it traumatic for her but it is a complete waste of time and taxpayers' money. It is ridiculous.

'Instead of getting 14-year-old boys to act in this type of sting they should have them trying to nail people who sell drugs outside our schools.'

Trafford Council said it launched an investigation after an unsubstantiated complaint that the shop had sold a gerbil to a 14-year-old girl with learning disabilities. The council claimed the animal later died after the child placed it in a disposable coffee cup with a plastic lid on top.

But the complaint did not form part of the legal action in court and its truth cannot be verified.

Mrs Higgins said the shop had not stocked gerbils for months before the complaint anyway.

Defending the goldfish case, Iain Veitch, head of public protection at Trafford Council, said: 'The evidence presented for this conviction clearly demonstrates that it is irresponsible to sell animals to those who are not old enough to look after them.

'Let this conviction send out a message that we will not tolerate those who cause unnecessary suffering to animals. The council will always try to support pet and business owners so that they are able to care for their animals properly, but where they continually ignore the advice they are given, we will not hesitate to use our statutory powers.'

The goldfish was later adopted by an animal welfare officer and is in good health.



WHAT......THE......FUCK!!!!

dannno
04-02-2010, 05:00 PM
England is a horrible country.

catdd
04-02-2010, 05:09 PM
"The goldfish was later adopted by an animal welfare officer and is in good health. "

Yeah, he probably fed it to his Oscar.


YouTube - Ozzy the Oscar eating goldfish MUST WATCH! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcYhNl3gjcI&feature=related)

Sarge
04-02-2010, 05:11 PM
Every carnival operator in the US would be fined and tagged for all the goldfish that are won at carnivals. No instructions and kids winning them.

England was great in 1958, when I was over there in the service. They have lost it in the last couple of years. Are they by any chance part of California now?

Sorry Dannno.

dannno
04-02-2010, 05:16 PM
Every carnival operator in the US would be fined and tagged for all the goldfish that are won at carnivals. No instructions and kids winning them.

England was great in 1958, when I was over there in the service. They have lost it in the last couple of years. Are they by any chance part of California now?

Sorry Dannno.

When 9/11 happened England was already setup to begin their 1984 big brother campaign and they hit hard...

TheEvilDetector
04-02-2010, 05:37 PM
Too excessive a punishment for a non-crime.

Sandman33
04-02-2010, 06:22 PM
When 9/11 happened England was already setup to begin their 1984 big brother campaign and they hit hard...

Very true. England disgusts me.

But what do you expect when walking into the very belly of the beast Empire?

No guns allowed and your every move is watched and fined accordingly.

Stary Hickory
04-02-2010, 06:29 PM
I cannot believe the English support this kind of nonsense. What are they thinking?

disorderlyvision
04-02-2010, 06:31 PM
I cannot believe the English support this kind of nonsense. What are they thinking?
you know...the exact same thing can be said about quite a few of our laws

NYgs23
04-02-2010, 06:44 PM
I ought to start cataloging these kinds of stories. The next time I meet a British person I can show them to him and ask him what do they think they're doing over there?

Danke
04-02-2010, 06:50 PM
YouTube - Monty Python - Fish License (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnq96W9jtuw)

jmdrake
04-02-2010, 07:41 PM
All I can say is wow! I am glad to be an American. We have really stupid politicians and some stupid laws but nothing like this.....yet.

disorderlyvision
04-02-2010, 08:02 PM
All I can say is wow! I am glad to be an American. We have really stupid politicians and some stupid laws but nothing like this.....yet.

'yet' being the key word

Andrew-Austin
04-02-2010, 09:09 PM
They sent the 14-year-old schoolboy into the shop to carry out a test purchase and Mr Higgins sold him the goldfish without questioning his age or providing any information about the care of the fish.


DUHN DUNN DUNNNNNNN.

YouTube - Dramatic Look (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Kyi0WNg40)

Hahahhahaahaha, behold the glory of the human race.

jkr
04-02-2010, 10:18 PM
fake.
its gotta be.

its just got to be...

james1906
04-02-2010, 10:28 PM
An autocratic regime with oil? Do I hear the sounds of bombs dropping?

Anti Federalist
04-02-2010, 10:38 PM
England is a horrible country.

that

disorderlyvision
04-02-2010, 10:46 PM
duhn dunn dunnnnnnn.

youtube - dramatic look (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8kyi0wng40)

hahahhahaahaha, behold the glory of the human race.

lmao!

Anti Federalist
04-02-2010, 10:57 PM
YouTube - Monty Python- Fish Slapping Dance! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwLirQS2-o)

nate895
04-03-2010, 01:45 AM
You have to show papers these to purchase a dang goldfish. It's worse than the Soviet Union in some parts of the West these days, including in the good ole USA on some issues.

LibForestPaul
04-03-2010, 07:56 AM
MSM vs RAG Media

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/8597762.stm

notice a different tone with the article above.

amy31416
04-03-2010, 08:07 AM
You have to show papers these to purchase a dang goldfish. It's worse than the Soviet Union in some parts of the West these days, including in the good ole USA on some issues.

It's worse than that...the "authorities" actually set up the owner of this pet store.

That means that they conspired to go after a 66 year old woman, they sat around a fucking table and decided beforehand that this was a good idea. Then they went and found a 14-year-old boy who looked older than 14 and paid him to go into the store and buy a fucking goldfish so they could fucking bust an old lady.

Seriously. Think about that for a moment. A group of adults came up with this scheme and used taxpayer money to finance it. It's goddamned mind-boggling.

catdd
04-03-2010, 08:15 AM
It's worse than that...the "authorities" actually set up the owner of this pet store.

That means that they conspired to go after a 66 year old woman, they sat around a fucking table and decided beforehand that this was a good idea. Then they went and found a 14-year-old boy who looked older than 14 and paid him to go into the store and buy a fucking goldfish so they could fucking bust an old lady.

Seriously. Think about that for a moment. A group of adults came up with this scheme and used taxpayer money to finance it. It's goddamned mind-boggling.

Not only that but they've probably set the 14 yr old kid up for a lifetime of deceit. But this kind of thing goes on in America too but usually over cigarettes and alcohol.