Man accused of abandoning pet fish has animal cruelty charges dropped
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Charges have been dropped against a North Carolina man accused of leaving his pet fish behind without food when he was evicted.
New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David told news outlets Tuesday that 53-year-old Michael Hinson is no longer charged with animal cruelty and abandonment. He says fish aren't protected under related statues that define "animal" as amphibians, reptiles, bird and mammals, excluding humans.
Officials say Hinson was evicted from his Wilmington home last month and left behind an unhealthy Oscar fish in a dirty tank. He was arrested last week after officials found the 6-inch fish, which is being nursed back to health at an aquarium store.
Sheriff's Lt. Jerry Brewer said this was the county's first animal cruelty case involving a fish.
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What does one say about this?
That something like this is actually a thing means we are doomed. We actually wasted taxpayer dollars on this.
Have to say Yup, to that comment...
How about:
WTF?
I like that one, too.
Thank you for the morning chuckle
I have to say, it gave me a good laugh... I had to share the joy.
I was looking for a satire tag or a source like The Onion but alas .... it was not to be ...
I know exactly what you mean! But that is why I had to post this. Life is stranger than fiction.
Actually, I used to feed my Oscars live goldfish so... It's fish abuse when you feed them and also fish abuse if you don't?
I had an Oscar, too. But I didn't know it. Some kid from my class gave him to me and unwittingly, I stuck him in my tank of live bearers. He ate through the tank within days. I must be complicit in mass murder, LOL.
OMG!!!!
You're a serial killer!
Exactly
and one can say that feeding them goldfish is also cruel because many Oscars never get big enough to handle the goldfish skulls which accumulate in it's gut.
Some learn to regurgitate the skulls, but most die of blockages.
unless they grow to be monsters, and then, from experience, one learns that they are pretty smart, and have personalities.
My oscars were fairly large when I got them. About 8 inches or so. A goldfish would last about 5 seconds in the tank.
Yet I would get in trouble for having a Piranha.
What about flushing fish? Will kids be prosecuted for that? A slippery slope?
That's OK. It's burial at sea.
Feed them chicken. Apparently, birds don't count.
We have two tanks and they probably feel abandoned already. They get fed, but they could use some cleaning.
A friend has Koi ponds. Olde fish that know him act differently with him depending on their individual personalities. All bad IMHO...
Do you think they are planning on eating him, if he falls in? I feel a plot happening.
Tacos,
We all have been there at some point, especially if you've had a kid.
I witnessed lots of cruely to fish growning up in rural Oklahoma. When the Crape were running at Eufalla fishermen would reel them in as quickly as they took them off their hooks resulting in great mounds of gasping dying fish at their feet. Noodlers would publically skin giant ancient catfish... alive. They always told me fish did not have feelings like humans so it was okay to treat fish inhumanely. Apparently now though, an American court has ruled in favor of a fish's civil rights. What will fish want next? Will fish be allowed to marry? Will fish attend school with our children? Will fish try to Vote? Will we be forced to hire fish or rent to fish? Will fish be allowed to ride in our ambulances or be treated in our hospitals? Where will this end?
Fish could take over the US! It's "Night of the Triffids" but only with fish!
Fish already attend school.
I'm waiting to see what Badfish has to say about this.
Aren't we all.
The laws should be written so as to include creatures that are clearly pets or "companions" and are widely seen as such by societal norms. This might help extend protection to fish, but not, say, cockroaches.
Kind of hard to these days. We eat fish, and people keep chickens as pets and then go in and get the KFC. We seem a bit conflicted.
I don't get the whole chicken/duck/turkey as pets thing. They're food, not bed companions
I plan on abusing some trout in May
You shouldn't talk that way about yourself. Most people just call that self-pleasuring (did I go too far with that comment?.... I just couldn't help myself)
Lol I actually though she was talking about Mr Trout
That poor man gets abused every day....I don't have to wait until May
You naughty girl! I bet he loves it
Stocked my new pond 3 years ago with a variety of tasty fish recommended by Dunn's Fish Farm and have yet to wet a line to see how they're doing. Not really all that fond of eating fish but was looking to create a balanced ecosystem. Nice to know that if TSHTF someday, that I have a source of protein and water (and swimming and canoeing) in my underground spring-fed backyard 1 acre pond. I'm thinking that the cost of building and stocking it was probably a good investment.
What kind of fish? I like bluegill or crappie as far as fresh water fish go. Gotta watch the bones on the bluegills, tho
the arresting officer had hole in the head disease also/
Superglue and a clean tank can cure an Oscar of hole-in-the-head, but the cop is SOL for brains.
Back in the early 70's, my favorite nightclub in Boulder Co. was called Tulagi. Upstairs in the VIP room was wall to wall aquariums. Some sort of tax problem caused the IRS to shut them down and the doors were locked. Thousands of dollars of exotic fish died. There were some very sad musicians coast to coast about that screw up.