A pair of goldfish that had been living in a small tank inside a sushi restaurant has been declared “sentient beings” and subjects of rights by an Argentine court, which found the animals were suffering, and ordered they be transferred to a sanctuary, where they now live in a large aquarium.
The goldfish were removed from the restaurant, located in Buenos Aires’ upscale Recoleta neighborhood, and placed in the temporary care of the NGO Santuario Jaulas Vacías (Empty Cages Sanctuary).
The organization filed the complaint alongside the city’s Prosecution Unit Specialized in Environmental Matters, arguing that the fish were being kept in “inadequate conditions.”
A Buenos Aires City misdemeanor court ruled that the fish “are not merely inanimate material objects” and that “their rights must be recognized as part of the obligation to respect the life and dignity of sentient beings.”
In its ruling, the court declared that the goldfish “are non-human animals and subjects of rights.”
