Sigurwin, the goldfish that’s almost caused an international dispute, will be left in good care at some pet shop in Malmö in Sweden.
The Iceland women’s football team meant to take him to Copenhagen and leave him there in the care of the team’s physiotherapist who lives there, but due to animal health regulations, Sigurwin has to stay in Sweden.
“I expect pet shops in Malmö to fight over this famous goldfish. I’m sure he’ll receive star treatment,” Ómar Smárason, publicist for the Icelandic Football Association, told visir.is
Grapevine reported earlier today about the uproar regarding the team’s mascot, and wrongly stated that GHO is an animal rights organization. GHO stands for Global Happiness Organization. It’s “scientifically-based nonprofit organization that aims to promote happiness and reduce suffering worldwide,“ says on their website.
However, the organization reported the team’s treatment of the goldfish. “Of course we understood that it was a joke, even if it was a really bad one. However, it is not in line with the Swedish Animal Welfare law to keep a fish for such a long time in a small glass jar with no place to hide,” Ludvig Lindström, president of GHO, told Grapevine.
“With our report we wanted to send a signal to the Icelandic national team that it is not OK to treat animals like this. Goldfish are sentient beings, just like humans. They can feel pain and suffer from stress and congestion. Fish and animals are not ours to use for entertainment. They exist for their own sake and although they cannot demand respect for it they do deserve it just as much as humans do.”
In GHO’s press release earlier, Ludvig urged Hallbera Gísladóttir, one of the team members, to go vegan and stop eating animal products entirely, after she offered to stop eating Sushi for a month to compensate for joking about killing Sigurwin.
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