Las Vegas, Nevada, Area Parks End Fish Giveaways

April 2001

PETA received a call from a former employee of North Las Vegas’ Parks and Recreation Department, who reported to us that each year, on the opening day of the city’s pools, hundreds of fish were dumped into the pools and children were given plastic bags with which to capture the fish and take them home. This event was almost assuredly a death sentence for the fish: Many died or were killed in the pool, and those who made it home were likely discarded once their novelty wore thin.

We contacted officials of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department to ask that they consider the cruelty associated with this event and the negative message that it sends to children–that animals can and should be used on a whim. We also alerted the county’s health department, city manager, and humane society.

The health department contacted each of the county’s parks and recreation departments to alert them to the fact that dumping the fish into the pool is a violation of health codes. The departments are now strictly prohibited from holding such events in the future.