Swallowed alive
Just when the NekNomination craze of 2014 seemed to be on the
decline, one man took it to another level by swallowing a frog and
a lizard - alive.
Investigating officer:
RSPCA Inspector Jo Pearson
Defendant:
Male 23, delivery driver
Offence:
Animal Welfare Act 2006 s4
Plea:
Guilty
Total convictions:
One
Sentence:
Disqualified from keeping fish for five
years; £400 fine; £1,090.65 costs.
Prosecuted by:
Nash & Co Solicitors
Investigating officer:
RSPCA Inspector Alan Browning
Defendant:
Male 23, rail worker
Offence:
Animal Welfare Act 2006 s4
Plea:
Guilty
Total convictions:
One
Sentence:
80 hours' unpaid work;
£1,200 costs.
Prosecuted by:
Paris Smith Solicitors
'Carrot' cocktail
A man who filmed himself swallowing an alcoholic cocktail containing
a live goldfish claimed he had replaced it with a piece of carrot using
sleight of hand.
The defendant was seen, in footage posted
on Facebook, explaining what he was about
to do, saying: "I'm going to call this the 'I'm
A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here' Nek
Challenge." Stripped to the waist and wearing
a black wig and false moustache, he is seen
putting the frog and the lizard into a glass of
water and swallowing them while they are
clearly still moving.
The man told magistrates he had regurgitated
the animals afterwards. There was no evidence
of this, or that they had survived.
RSPCA Inspector Alan Browning said:
"Unfortunately, this isn't the first case we've
had involving NekNomination, but it is the first
to come to court that involved animals other
than fish. These two small animals would have
suffered considerably during this incident, going
through the distress of being swallowed, then
The footage shows the defendant, dressed
only in his underwear, opening bottles of
alcohol including vodka, tequila and advocaat
and pouring them into a glass. He adds the
goldfish, consumes the entire contents, then
takes a wine glass containing another goldfish
and drinks the contents in two gulps. He then
speaks to the camera normally, nominating
three further people. The footage was then
uploaded onto a social media site.
A vet reported that the fish would be unable
to breathe in the alcohol and would rapidly
become distressed. After being swallowed, the
stomach acid would lead to their deaths.
When interviewed, the man claimed he
did not actually swallow the fish, but had
replaced the first fish with a piece of carrot
and held the second under his tongue until
he had stopped filming, then put it into a
glass of water. Mitigation was made that he
did not understand the seriousness of his
actions, or the consequences of not telling
the truth in interview.
The district judge said what the defendant
had done was for his own gratification and
self-publicity, and that fish are no different
from any other animal.
Inspector Pearson said: "Eating a live animal
and posting it online for entertainment is
simply not acceptable."
coming into contact with stomach acids before
they died. We hope this sick craze is now on
the decline. It's just not acceptable to subject
animals to this sort of ordeal."
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