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| Neknominate man fined for swallowing goldfish on film | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A 20-year-old man from Suffolk has been fined £200 after he was filmed swallowing two goldfish as part of a 'Neknominate' online dare. | A 20-year-old man from Suffolk has been fined £200 after he was filmed swallowing two goldfish as part of a 'Neknominate' online dare. |
| Jack Blowers, from Lowestoft, admitted failing to protect the fish, which are alive, from suffering. | Jack Blowers, from Lowestoft, admitted failing to protect the fish, which are alive, from suffering. |
| Lowestoft magistrates also ordered him to pay £600 in costs following the RSPCA prosecution. | Lowestoft magistrates also ordered him to pay £600 in costs following the RSPCA prosecution. |
| Blowers, who uploaded the film on Facebook, said: "It was a stupid prank which has cost me a lot of money." | Blowers, who uploaded the film on Facebook, said: "It was a stupid prank which has cost me a lot of money." |
| The court heard Blowers bought the fish at a local shop in February and drank them from a pint glass which also contained fish food and gravel. | The court heard Blowers bought the fish at a local shop in February and drank them from a pint glass which also contained fish food and gravel. |
| 'Flippant bet' | 'Flippant bet' |
| His friend, Joseph Meikle, 20, also from Lowestoft, filmed it and he later accepted a caution. | His friend, Joseph Meikle, 20, also from Lowestoft, filmed it and he later accepted a caution. |
| Neknominate is a craze where someone carries out a 'dare' and then nominates another person to carry out another challenge. | Neknominate is a craze where someone carries out a 'dare' and then nominates another person to carry out another challenge. |
| Blowers said: "I won't do it again but my family are glad I didn't do it with alcohol." | Blowers said: "I won't do it again but my family are glad I didn't do it with alcohol." |
| His lawyer Richard Mann said: "He knew that we all eat fish, we boil lobsters alive and things like that. | His lawyer Richard Mann said: "He knew that we all eat fish, we boil lobsters alive and things like that. |
| "Looking into the law, if he had done this with an octopus or something without vertebrae, this would not have been an illegal act." | "Looking into the law, if he had done this with an octopus or something without vertebrae, this would not have been an illegal act." |
| Speaking after the hearing Ben Kirby, RSPCA inspector, said: "There was a very deliberate decision to go out and buy fish in order to outdo the person who nominated them in a drinking game. | Speaking after the hearing Ben Kirby, RSPCA inspector, said: "There was a very deliberate decision to go out and buy fish in order to outdo the person who nominated them in a drinking game. |
| "It is simply not acceptable to treat an animal in this callous way, purely for amusement as part of a flippant bet, with no regard whatsoever for their wellbeing." | "It is simply not acceptable to treat an animal in this callous way, purely for amusement as part of a flippant bet, with no regard whatsoever for their wellbeing." |
| The court heard Blowers regurgitated the fish and then took them to his grandmother's house where he put them in her fish bowl and they were still alive. | The court heard Blowers regurgitated the fish and then took them to his grandmother's house where he put them in her fish bowl and they were still alive. |
| Chair of the bench, Philip Key, told him: "We believe this was cruel, reckless and stupid." | Chair of the bench, Philip Key, told him: "We believe this was cruel, reckless and stupid." |