ROME — In the greater animal kingdom, the plight of the little goldfish is especially harsh. The tiny creatures are scooped into plastic bags and awarded at carnivals and fairs. They are confined to bowls where they can do nothing but swim around and around. Some (it has been claimed) go blind.
No more. The municipal government of Rome has entered waters where few city halls dare tread. Under a new ordinance, the city's goldfish are entitled to a proper, full-sized aquarium, and they can no longer be given out as contest prizes.
The rules were drafted by the city of Rome's Office for Animal Rights. The 59-point statute ordering better treatment for all pets, from cats and dogs to birds and lizards, was approved by the City Council last month and will go into effect today.
The unusually strict measure is winning plaudits from animal rights activists, snarls from pet shop owners and puzzlement from all quarters about whether it can be enforced. City officials, though, said it was time to take a stand.
"We needed to send a strong message: Pets are not objects," said Cristina Bedini, an 11-year veteran of the animal rights office. "We are saying that owning a pet is a joy, but it is also a duty. Responsible ownership is the only way to fight cruelty."
The fish-bowl rule may win Rome a humanitarian award from the Fish Empathy Project of PETA, the international animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
"Rome has gone above and beyond anything we've seen anywhere else," spokeswoman Karin Robertson said in a telephone interview. For all animals, the Italian capital's new ordinance is more restrictive than anything in the United States, PETA said in a statement.
In addition to affording protection for fish, the measure requires dog owners to walk their canines daily or face a $625 fine. It also bans the display of pets for sale in store windows, and gives legal recognition to Rome's famous \o7gattare\f7, the "cat ladies" who feed an army of strays.
Also forbidden: choke and electrical collars and, for dogs and cats, declawing and the clipping of tails and ears for cosmetic reasons.
"Rome has taken a historic step for animal rights," said Gianluca Felicetti, an activist with one of Italy's main animal-welfare organizations. "It will help people to know that animals have a right to respect and to their ethological necessities."
