The other day I received and e-mail from a young lady called Haley Sloman who we know through our constant use of our local tropical Fish outlet here in Plymouth.

She is a very nice person and talented fish artist who paints not only Koi but most other fish as well, the e-mail was a heart felt plea for us to visit the Prime Ministers website and to sign up to a petition about the giving of Goldfish for prizes at traveling fairs and how people in the aquatic world want to see an end to this practice which see's the deaths of thousands of poor Goldfish every year and probably has done since we were children in my case 40 years ago, when I won my first ever fish Goldie who lived for over ten years .

These Goldfish are being given away as prizes with no instructions as to how to look after them and often die within the first weeks of being won this is due to children not knowing how to look after them .

This though is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak as there are untold numbers who die due to rough handling by the fairground staff as they travel from town to town, City to City in cramped bins, they are often ill fed have diseases and are damaged. are bagged and debagged with regularity paying no heed to the temperature variants they will suffer during the day.

I also have a unique insight to this practice as I once many moons ago worked as a fairground worker and have seen first hand their treatment.

So I ask everyone who reads this article to please visit this site and sign up to it, as well ask asking everyone you know to do the same http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/fishprize/ and help support Haley and others in petitioning the Prime Minister in banning this practice the sooner the better as it certainly needs to be.

With our's and Haley's thank's to all who do.

Plymouth and District Koi Keepers Society