Swallowing Goldfish Could Lead to Big Fine, Jail TimeBy DAVID MONTERO - Scripps Howard News Service
Arvada, Colo. -- Bennigan's Grill and Tavern was scheduled to have a St. Patrick's Day contest featuring revelers swallowing goldfish until it learned the stunt could bring a steep fine and jail time.
"It was something we'd heard from some of our guests, that it was cruel to animals," manager Leonard Apodaca said. "We want to take care of our guests and address their concerns, so we canceled it."
In Arvada, swallowing a goldfish could bring a $999 fine, six months in jail - or possibly both.
The investigation started when the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals contacted the Arvada Police Department to determine if goldfish swallowing was in violation of animal-cruelty laws.
It was, according to Becky Robison, supervisor of the animal-management unit at the Arvada Police Department.
"Yes, it's a goldfish, but since it's considered a domestic animal, we think it was a fit within the city ordinance," she said. "The fish was going to be put in alcohol, and that would burn their lungs out. That was the most disturbing thing."
That is a different slant on a fad that has been around since 1939, when Harvard freshman Leonard Withington famously swallowed a goldfish on a dare - sans alcohol.
According to the Bad Fads Museum in Chicago, Withington's stunt began a craze around the country on college campuses. According to museum officials, a professor at the time claimed that a person could swallow 150 goldfish without adverse side effects.
But a U.S. Public Health advisory in 1939 warned that eating live goldfish could actually result in the swallower getting anemia because of tapeworms inside the fish.
The health debate for humans aside, PETA spokeswoman Jennifer O'Connor said it is not only cruel to the fish, but that the contest seemed pointless to her - especially when tied to St. Patrick's Day.
"Look, my last name is O'Connor and I'm as Irish as you can get," she said. "And I can tell you, I never saw people swallowing goldfish on St. Patrick's Day. I don't get it."
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