Fish as companion animals

For the purposes of an anti-cruelty statute, a fish is a "companional animal," an appellate court in New York held last week. The NY statute defines companion animal, in relevant part, as "[a] domesticated animal normally maintained in or near [a caretaker's] household." The defendant in People v. Garcia, 2006 NY Slip Op 02315, had argued a "fish is not a companion animal because it is not domesticated and because there is no reciprocity or mutuality of feeling between a fish and its owner," but to no avail. The court relies on the common understanding of the term "domesticated" and notes the lack of support for a reciprocity requirement in the statute, thus de-emphasizing the human-animal bond. The basis for the conviction was Garcia's stomping of his girlfriend's son's fish, apparently as part of a pattern of abuse. This case is yet another example of the need for broad protection of all survivors of domestic violence (see the post below).