An Oxfordshire man has been banned from keeping fish for five years after he posted a video onto Facebook showing him swallowing a live goldfish.
Luke Berry, from Faringdon, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a goldfish and was also given a 12-month community order of 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £500 costs at Oxford Magistrates' Court.
The video shows 26-year-old Berry attempting to swallow the goldfish along with some cider and failing in his first attempt. The unfortunate fish ends up being coughed out onto the floor before being picked up for another attempt, which proves successful.
The footage was posted online with the title 'Here Fishy Fishy' and was reported to the RSPCA, which launched an investigation.
Defending, Alice Dodds told the court that Berry was ashamed of his behaviour and embarrassed by the £1,727 cost of taking the case to court.
Speaking after the hearing, RSPCA inspector Andy Eddy said the sentence demonstrated that it is unacceptable to cruelly treat an animal in this fashion, and then post it online for entertainment.
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