Many families will have been delighted to win a goldfish as a prize at a funfair, happily putting it in a bowl and feeding it every day after school.

 

许多孩子在游乐场赢得一条金鱼当奖品后会很高兴，开心地将它放进碗里，每天放学后去喂它。 

 

But they could have been guilty of animal cruelty without even knowing it.

 

Goldfish might get a bad reputation of being boring pets - and having rubbish memories - but they're more clued up than we realise.

 

In Switzerland, it has been illegal to own one solitary¹ goldfish since 2008, when the country introduced a whole host of animal rights' legislation².

 

Why? Because fish are actually 'social' creatures. In the sea they swim in shoals, so it makes perfect sense that they would need companions.

 

The Swiss government believes it is cruel to force them to live in isolation³ - but it doesn't just apply to fish.

 

Other social creatures like guinea pigs and budgerigars are also covered by this legislation.

 

Switzerland even has companies which pair guinea pigs up with partners when the inevitable⁴ happens and one of the original couple dies.

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