Councillors have voted unanimously to ban the giving of live animals as prizes in Caerphilly County Borough.
Cllr Jamie Pritchard put forward the motion to Caerphilly County Borough Council’s full council on Wednesday, October 23.
Currently it is an offence to give an animal as a prize to anyone under 16, except within a family context, but RSPCA Cymru says this does not go far enough.
Cllr Pritchard said the motion came about because he was asked why it wasn’t already banned.
He said: “People I’ve spoken to in Caerphilly are aghast the practice of giving pets as prizes isn’t already banned – so it was really important for me to work with RSPCA Cymru to deliver this change.
“While the law is more robust in Scotland, for example, sadly we still see many goldfish and other animals suffer when given as prizes in Wales.
“Here in Caerphilly, I’m proud we have now taken a firm stand and used the power at our disposal, and also urged the Welsh Government to deliver change in this area across Wales.”
In the full council, Cllr Nigel Dix asked what powers the authority had to enforce the ban.
The council heard that although there’s no legal process to fining people, steps could be taken to evict those that don’t abide by the law.
The passing of the motion means that the council will also write to the Welsh Government to call for a ban to cover all public and private land in Wales.
Of 24 cases reported to the RSPCA since 2014, 60% were goldfish being given at fairgrounds, but other animals including dogs, ducklings and horses were also reported.
RSPCA’s public affairs and media manager Chris O’Brien said: “RSPCA Cymru is absolutely delighted that Caerphilly councillors unanimously backed such an important motion.
“It has been great to work alongside Cllr Pritchard to make this happen.
“This is great news for animal welfare, particularly goldfish – which are the pet most commonly given as prizes, and often see their welfare detrimentally impacted as a result.
“Caerphilly councillors have made a clear statement today that pets aren’t prizes – but companions.
“We now call on other local authorities in Wales to follow Caerphilly and take similar action and to help bring this practice to an end.”