Argentina court recognizes two goldfish as sentient beings with rights

Magui and Fede settled in very well in their new home. (Federico Sordo/Jaulas Vacías Sanctuary via CNN Newsource)

On the facade of a sushi restaurant in a chic Buenos Aires neighbourhood, two goldfish in a glass display case would go largely unnoticed apart from the occasional child who would tap against the glass.

One day, someone took a closer look at the tank, which was exposed to the sun and street noise. It would change the fate of the pair of small fish, named Fede and Magui, who were later recognized in an Argentine court as sentient beings that had rights.

“Anyone passing by and stopping to look could see it wasn’t suitable for the fish,” said Matías Trufero, lawyer for the NGO Jaulas Vacías, an anti-speciesism sanctuary that houses more than 200 rescued animals.

He said that’s why Jaulas Vacías (Empty Cages), decided to file a complaint with the courts, arguing that the conditions of these fish violated Law 14.346, which penalizes animal abuse in Argentina.

With the help of specialists, they built a legal case and almost immediately convinced the court to move the fish to a more suitable place.

Trufero, the main promoter of this change, said the restaurant staff did not object to the ruling. CNN has contacted the restaurant for comment.

Having two fish in a glass display case is “more or less the same as putting two polar bears in a cage inside a sauna,” said Carlos José Aga, one of the specialists who helped with the rescue and offered to adopt them.

Magui and Fede were moved from their 40-litre display case and into a 2,500-litre fish tank at Aga’s house. The court ruled that the fish would remain in the care of their adopter.

“Fish are like astronauts, they travel in their own environment with careful monitoring of all their vital parameters, and when they arrive at the place, those conditions must be reproduced with great accuracy to avoid imbalances that could lead to a decrease in their immunity,” Aga explained.

“Now they are doing very well,” he said.

But rescuing the fish was only part of the process.

‘Sentient beings’

“At the beginning of the case, we requested that, in addition to removing the fish to a safe and suitable location, they be declared subjects of law,” or “sentient beings,” Trufero explained.

In other words, they wanted the fish to stop being recognized merely as “objects” under the law and become beings with rights.

Such a ruling sets a precedent for similar animals in inadequate conditions to lead a dignified life.

For anyone wondering if it’s illegal to keep goldfish at home, Trufero said the answer depends on the situation.

“It’s not illegal per se to keep a fish in a fish tank. However, it is illegal to keep them in conditions that cause mistreatment or cruelty. For example, inadequate space, insufficient food, and other acts punishable by law,” Trufero said about the legislation in Argentina.

“Furthermore, if it’s an exotic species, keeping could be prohibited if it falls under local wildlife laws,” regulations that also exist in many other countries, he said.

From orangutans to fish

The first habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of a non-human animal was in 2005 for Suiza, a chimpanzee in Brazil, who died before being transferred to a sanctuary.

From then on, similar cases began to occur in other countries, including Argentina. One of the best known was that of Sandra, an orangutan born in Germany who lived in the Buenos Aires Zoo for 20 years until 2014, when she was declared a “non-human person” by a judge thanks to legal action brought by environmentalists.

The ruling held that her captivity and exhibition violated her rights, even though she was well fed and did not suffer mistreatment.

In 2016, the Buenos Aires Zoo was transformed into an eco-park, removing animals from display and relocating many of them to sanctuaries. Sandra was sent to the Center of Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida, in 2019.

“The importance of declaring these animals subjects of law lies in the fact that they cease to be considered a thing, an object,” Trufero explained.

In cases of cruelty and mistreatment, they can be considered victims and not things, which radically changes the way the future of animals is defined.

The case of Fede and Magui opens a door for these types of fish, very common in homes and businesses, to be legally protected.

“A subject with a legal right can do little or nothing for themselves unless there are people who speak on behalf of those who cannot speak and enforce the law,” Aga emphasized, adding that Fede and Magui have already settled into their new home.