Man fined after he posts video of himself swallowing goldfish on Facebook

A man has been banned from keeping fish for five years after footage of him swallowing a goldfish alive - twice - appeared on Facebook.

Luke Berry, 26, of Taylor Close, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, appeared at Oxfordshire Magistrates’ Court after previously pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a goldfish on 19 January.

As well as the ban, he was given a 12 month community order of 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £500 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

RSPCA inspector Andy Eddy said: “The video shows that the fish was clearly alive when it was swallowed.“The defendant is then seen spitting the fish out again, and it is seen moving.

"He swallows and spits it out again, and this time the fish is not moving.

“We do not know if it was the act of swallowing which killed the fish or the impact of it hitting the floor after it was spat out.

“Whichever was the case, this was a callous and cruel way to treat a living creature.

“Eating a live animal and posting a video of it online for entertainment is not some light-hearted joke – it is unacceptable.

"The RSPCA takes the use of animals in these so-called ‘pranks’ very seriously."