PETA viva L'Italia...

It's a story that would definitely make PETA proud. A town in Italy has passed a law which makes it illegal to keep goldfish in fish bowls.

(Story here, but you need a subsciption to the National Post to see it.)

"A fish kept in a bowl has a distorted view of reality ... and suffers because of this," city councillor Giampietro Mosca told Agence France-Presse. "Also, this type of receptacle generally doesn't have a filter and doesn't allow for good oxygenation of the water, unlike in rectangular aquariums."

I'll admit that I've never been overly concerned about the self-esteem of any goldfish I've kept in fish bowls. Yes, that's right - I'll admit that at some point in my past, I used to own a goldfish. And it was kept in a bowl.

And guess what - the goldfish inhaled, too. As best explained by David McNish, of Roy's Pet Shop in Kingston, Ont. Roy says the councillor's concern about oxygen betrays a limited understanding of the goldfish's respiratory system, (never mind any existential despair.) "A goldfish is a top air breather," he said, explaining they rise to the surface instead of breathing underwater through their gills.

By the way - news may be out next week that dorky dog pants and french poodle outfits cause canine depression.