Food for thought on pond vandalism

[Caryl]

A keen aquarist in a town in the King Country returned from holiday to find that 4 boys, aged from 6 – 10, had been using her garden to play in, and some of the ponds to swim in.

The garden gate was locked but they had climbed over that. There was not one live fish in the shubunkin pond which had contained 22 large fish, and what the boys did not catch and throw on the lawn to die, were squashed and dead in the bottom of the pond and strewn over the lawn.

There was one moor alive out of another pond, and all the moor fry gone. All the plants had been pulled out and thrown all over the lawn.

In a 2,000L pond she had 60 single and veil tailed comets; she now has 31 left and all her large fish were destroyed.

One small ray of sunshine was that the boys missed 9 large Japanese fantails.

This was her second start after another bout of vandalism some time ago which had left her with 4 surviving fish.

What was the outcome of this loss and heartbreak?

One mother was most upset because her dear boy could have been drowned and she would not have known where he was.

Another said she could not be responsible for other people’s gardens as it took her all her time to look after her own, but she would speak to the boys about it (two of the vandals were her sons).

One father said he would pay for a quarter of the fish if the others did the same.

This was the only one fair offer given to an elderly fishkeeper who cannot work up any more enthusiasm, is not going to buy or rear more, and now has 5 empty ponds. Is it any wonder she cried until she was sick???

Now, before you start saying things like “Kids these days are allowed to run wild!” or “Parents show no responsibility these days!”, this article was originally printed in the NZ Aquatic World magazine, June, 1960.