Wow, If You Flush Your Fish, It Won't Be Freed

Stories like these are why I wear my "Question Society" shirt at least once every two weeks. I've probably already used that line in a post, but it's so, so true.

As the American summer blockbuster "Finding Nemo" surfaces on European movie screens, conservationists are beseeching fish hobbyists: Don't flush!

Inspired by the adventures of the animated clownfish character — including his unlikely escape down a dentist's spit sink — conservationists say hundreds of children have flushed their pet fish down the toilet, hoping to free them.

The United Nations (news - web sites) Environment Programme and its partners want to discourage the innocent practice, while using the film's Friday opening in the United Kingdom to highlight a new report that tallies exotic fish losses and habitat damage caused by the growing pet trade.

"Parents who already have aquariums need to explain to their children that the fish will not survive if they are flushed," says Paul Holthus, president of the Marine Aquarium Council, a nonprofit conservation group based in Hawaii.

Thankfully, though, this one is British. British media - GIVE YOUR PEOPLE SOME CREDIT.

Thank you.

hln

Posted by hln at September 30, 2003 09:15 PM | Media: Stating the Obvious | TrackBack