[lit-ideas] A Fish Eyed View of the World
- From: "Erin Holder" <erin.holder@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 10:50:37 -0400
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/index.html
You can read the first few lines of the article on the homepage, but you need
to be a paid subscriber to access the rest of the article. So, I'm going to
type the whole thing out. It's entirely too funny a read to overlook.
A Fish Eyed View of the World
Italian city bans goldfish bowls
By Siri Agrell
A city in Northern Italy is defending a widely ridiculed new law that makes it
illegal to keep goldfish in glass bowls because it gives them a "distorted
sense of reality."
The Town of Mozna, which hosts the Italian Grand Prix, has passed a law "on the
treatment of domestic animals," which bans the sale of chicks at fairs, giving
small animals as prizes in competitions and outlaws goldfish bowls.
"A fish kept in a bowl has a distorted view of reality...and suffers because of
this," city councilor Giamietro Mosca told Agence France-Presse. "Also, this
type of receptacle generally doesn't have a filter and doesn't allow for good
oxygenation of the water, unlike in rectangular aquariums."
The town wants to teach children that animals must never be mistreated or
exploited, regardless of size or swimming style.
"This story about the goldfish, which has gone around Italy, seems a little
irrelevant and people have mocked it a bit, but it has a very specific
educational sense, especially for the little ones," Mr. Mosca said.
David McNish, of Roy's Pet Shop in Kingston, said the councilor's concern about
oxygen betrays a limited understanding of the goldfish's respiratory system,
never mind any existential despair. "A goldfish is a top air breather," he
said, explaining they rise to the surface instead of breathing underwater
through their gills..."
There's a bit more to the article, but it's mostly just facts about goldfish.
I can post the rest of it if anyone _really_ wants to know. I just got a kick
out of the article, that's all. Made my morning, really.
The goldfish and its existential despair. Ha. I love it :)
Erin
Toronto
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
