Drunken fairground reveller filmed swallowing a live goldfish

The Plymouth man was captured in mobile phone footage devouring the fish.

Man captured on camera swallowing live goldfish and posted to Facebook

A drunken fairground reveller captured on camera swallowing a live goldfish has been banned from owning a fish for the next five years.

Alexander Mackey said he swallowed the fish “to impress his mates” after one of them won it at the Tavistock Goose Fair last October.

The 21-year-old engineer from Plymouth in Devon admitted he had drunk ‘four or five’ cans of lager before heading to the fair and then a further four cans when he arrived there.

And in his police interview he reportedly said he was so drunk he had barely felt the fish in his mouth.

However, the sickening episode was caught on video by one of his friends and posted on Facebook, where an image can be seen of him dangling the fish in his mouth before swallowing.

Later the incident was reported to the RSPCA, who accused him of causing unnecessary suffering to a goldfish.

Appearing before Plymouth Magistrates’ Court on Friday, Mackey pleaded guilty to a charge under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and apologised.

The Plymouth Herald reported Lindi Meyer, acting on behalf of the RSPCA, told the court: "He explained during a police interview that he had gone to the fair, having drunk four or five cans, and then drank four more.

"He met up with a group of friends and one of them had won a goldfish. One of his mates suggested swallowing it, but they bottled it.

"So the defendant said he would do it. He was handed the fish and swallowed it whole. He said he was drunk and didn't really feel it.

"He said it didn't cross his mind that the little fish would have suffered and said he wouldn't have done it if he was sober."

The court heard an expert report, prepared by a vet, said the fish would have experienced a painful death due to the “high levels of acidity” in the stomach.

Mrs Meyer added: "The vet explained that the fish can be seen thrashing around in the video because it is distressed. The fish would have experienced trauma, too, being outside of water.

"It was abundantly obvious that this would lead to pain and harm for the fish."

Mackey, who was unrepresented at the hearing, said he had nothing to add to the police interview and apologised for his actions.

Magistrates fined him £752, banned him from owning a fish for the next five years and told him to curb his drinking.

Speaking after the case, RSPCA Inspector Jo Pearson told The Plymouth Herald:

"This may have been a drunken game for Mr Mackey but this fish was a live animal that could suffer and feel pain and what he did was an act of cruelty.

"I have no doubt in my mind that this poor goldfish suffered after being swallowed alive.

"The horrible act was even filmed on a mobile phone. “