Don’t Free Willy! Especially If You Win Him At The Fair!

I’m not sure if the Central Washington State Fair has carney games that award goldfish as prizes but it’s not an uncommon practice – but maybe it should be.  People magazine reports you may want to think twice before letting your child bring home a goldfish from the fair since they can wreak havoc with our  ecosystems when families outgrow the novelty and flush them away.

Goldfish takeovers have actually taken place in Nevada, Colorado, Canada and Australia. Believe it or not, some of the fish can grow to the size of a two-liter soda bottle, weigh up to four pounds and cause some serious problems like uprooting plants, spreading disease, overeating the food supply.  In addition they multiply rapidly and have no natural predators.

But wait there’s more!  They can swim long distances, migrate to spawn and may even be a lot smarter than we think.

Bottom line --when you grow tired of taking care of  “goldy”,  take it to a wildlife rescue instead of to the bathroom or the creek outside.