Kids Right's, Fish Rights...

[themissingelf]

I think it is sensible to impose some discipline on ALL customers purchasing live animals. However, this must start with the industry imposing some self-discipline. For example, get rid of all the stupid fish bowls!

 

[samyboy]

i have mixed feelings on this yes i think there should be an age limit for the fish's sake but im 18 so it doesnt effect me

the only trouble is would your average lfs enforce t there out there to make money i.e. sell fish are they going to care what the buyer is going todo with the fish. saying that i do realise there are members on here that work in fish stores and would enforce this

 

[Araxen]

I understand many under 16's would abuse this and by the animals for a cheap laugh, but then again, people like me are perfectly capable of raising and caring for a fish, or indeed any other animal in my opinion.

That argument just doesn't work, mainly because of other laws regarding age. I'm sure there are some 14 year olds that can handle driving, or 16 year olds that would be responsible drinkers, but it's done to protect the majority of people. The law is because they think not all, but the majority of people under 16 aren't able to fully recognize the responsibility they're undertaking by purchasing a live animal.

I agree with the law. I think that if you're really serious about it and under 16, your parents will go with you and help you out.

I agree, I like the over 16 law. There are alot of kids who will just buy the fish/animals without thinking about all the other stuff that comes along with owning the particular animal. I'm sure there are some under 16 that are responsible enough to take of a fish/animal and I'm sure their parents will back them up on it and help them buy fish/animals by going to the store with them. It was never a problem for me to ask my parents to help out if I needed their consent to get something that was age restricted at the store.

 

[andywg]

The simple fact is that a law cannot take into account vaguaries such as whether someone can really look after a tank, how on earth would a judge make any decision on that?

Look at the law on sale of alcohol, you have to be 18 to buy it. I know people who are 17 and can drink all night long without any problems, and I also know people who can have a sniff of it aged 25 and will have their legs go out from under them.

How does the law cope with this problem? IT doesn't. They take an age at which the majority of the population will be responsible enough and make that the cut off point.

Trying to put standards on selling would not work. When did you last see someone refused drink because they are drunk in a pub? And I don't mean because they have fallen over and propositioned the fruit machine. It is illegal for a landlord to serve alcohol to a drunk person. Is it enforced? Is it hell. And let's be honest, how would you?

One thing most people miss is you can always go down with your parents to get the fish, it's not like you are banned from keeping.

I am sad to say, but these debates usually end up with two groups: those who are caught by the ban thinking it is unfair they can't do what everyone else can; and those who have gone past it and can see how they themselves matured during those years and can now understand why the law is as it is.

 

[jarcher1390]

i think its a good idea but there people out there over 20 who are just as incapable of keeping fish net alone 16 year olds i think lfs should make there own decisions 2 people buying fish at any age

 

[Kame-San]

Being 14, I would naturally disagree. I don't think age should have anything to do with this. I understand the law is made to keep innocent fish from dieing, but really, maturity really has nothing to do with age.

Plenty of my mother's friends are a lot less mature than me. I understand that the responsibility of animal care is created when you are given responsibility at a young age, yet also depends on the person themselves. I've always had at least a cat around, so I've always been exposed to how an animal should be treated and cared for. ATM, I have five fish tanks of my own to take care of, and my sister's (who is eight and hasn't learned the right responsibility yet) two tanks.

I also think a lot of problems with 'younger' buyers are because their parents know nothing about the fish, the children don't know what they want, and they just walk into a pet store and say "I want that one, it looks pretty." Places WITHOUT this law should at least have well informed staff. A child the age of 12 is either going to walk into the pet store knowing NOTHING about fish, or is going to walk in with parents who have had fish tanks and know what they're doing, and what their children should not do.

The associate in a LPS who has to catch and bag the child's fish should be aware of what they are buying, and if it's going into a tank they are buying today, or a tank they have at home and how big that tank is etc.

Okay, my point is: I DON'T agree with this law, but I totally understand WHY people want to have it. LFS should make sure their workers know what they're doing so they can spot kids who have no idea what they're doing, and can help them. And if they're SO worried about it, why not ask the parents if they have fish at home, or ever had.

 

[Saedcantas]

Since I was the offender who originally raised this topic

I DO work in the average LFS and it does not make good business sense to even the most lax of LFS's to sell to kids under 16, why? Well no not because all of them actually care about the welfare of the animals they sell sadly, but because a lot of the time kids under 16 who buy pets unaccompanied will be marched back to the shop they got it from by a parent who will then shout at the people who sold the animal(s).

I began keeping fish when I was 10 it was conducted with my parents help, input and permission (for that matter how many under 16's have the money to spend on fish as a hobby?) by the time I was 13 the people who worked in the shop (that I now work for...) knew me well enough to know that I would be ok buying fish on my own.

I work on the same premise. If you are under 16 (or infact an adult that I've never met before!) and just show up randomly I will ask you some questions. I'm no fool and 7 years in trade tells me whether you're going home with any of my livestock or not, people dont blag their way into getting animals they cant care for I can instantly tell a fishkeeper proper from an idiot with a glass tank with a load of brown muck in it just from what people say

No matter what your age a good lfs worker will ask you some questions and may even refuse sale. The law as all the other older wiser people have explained is there for the majority. I've never said people under 16 are all incapable of good pet keeping, just as I never said all people over 16 are good pet owners either!

 

[MasterP]

I'm witj furryrabbit. I'm fifteen and i know what he feels like becuase i walk into fish stores and know more about the fish than the employees. I got my first fish when i was eight and have probably had a tank fo atleast 5 of the past seven years. I do not hold a steady job but i do ref soccer games on the weekends and make every pennie spent on my fish tank unless i get something for christmas. I knoe that there are some kids that will not take good care of the fish but neither will all adults.

 

[Qays]

No matter what age, a beginner will make always mistakes.

 

[guppymonkey]

I work in a pet store and I think no one under 18 should be allowed to buy animals. I see sooooo many kids come in and try to get pets and not have parental approval. We don't allow anyone under 18 to buy most animals like hamsters and birds but they can buy fish. A lot of kids come in and get fish that are totally inappropriate fish for their tanks. Our owner won't let me refuse sales but sometimes I have to because these kids want to get oscars and guppies and goldfish and keep them together and want to try to fight bettas and other fish atrocities.

There are some kids that are responsible but there are far more that aren't. Heck I think there should be a permit to own any animal, most animals are just abused and forgotten. If we treated people the way we do animals we would be in jail!

 

[Kame-San]

No one ever said mistakes won't be made. People who are NOT beginners will make mistakes. Age has nothing to do with mistakes, anyway. An adult who has never kept fish will make mistakes.

 

[starrynightxxi]

i'm afraid that the younger people on this forum are no less biased than the adults, though, as your concern for fish far outweighs that of many of your peers. That is clear just by the simple fact that you are here. In any case, the law wasn't made to offend you, nor to prevent you from owning animals, it simply says that you must have a parent with you when you buy them. As someone who was completely dependent on my parents to buy the tanks, fish, food, filters and medication, as well as drive me there and back, and remind me about water changes and filter changes, I can honestly say that I think the law is fine.

 

[Lynden]

I think the law makes sense, though I'll say again, I'm glad it isn't in Canada.



Oh, and by the way, I am living proof that kids often do know more about fish than adults. Contrary to what a certain someone would like to believe.



-Lynden

 

[JawsA10]

plain and simple kids should have right (not just saying because im a kid)

 

[afireinside]

I don't like the idea. Mainly because I'm 14, but I take really good care of my fish (I'm redoing the tank for them tommorow, to make it look more natural looking). If you notice, I almost always look for info on the fish I want to get and then ask on the forums. Either way, it wouldn't work. If there was a law, I'd just give the money to my dad and have him buy it with my money.

Age has nothing to do with it. It's knowlage on what your doing. Yes I agree with the fact it's a privlage to own fish, but this almost seems PETA like to me...