Fish are people too | Pets

Nemo never had to put up with this. A popular event is no more after a storm of outraged animal-lovers unleashed a furious letter-writing campaign on Harmon Tap Room owners and managers.

Until last week, weekly goldfish races were drawing a steady crowd to the Tap Room. 

"It was packed," said Harmon co-owner Carole Holder. "That was our busiest night of the week."

The weekly event featured two long gutters full of water, a tank of 10-cent feeder goldfish and spray bottles of water to encourage the fish along.

Holder and fellow owner Pat Nagle say the fish were treated well and only handled by a gloved staff member. They say the fish had a clean place to live, were fed regularly and were taken out weekly for the "gentle exercise" of the races.

"We thought that they were happy with us," says Nagle, with a laugh.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals representatives, however, felt differently.

"Fish are tiny animals, and this can be a terrifying experience for them," said Gemma Vaughan, who works in PETA's cruelty investigations and who kicked off the letter-writing campaign. "We even got some reports of fish being impaled by cocktail straws by patrons and also some reports of fish being swallowed alive."

But Holder says the event wasn't quite that dramatic – she says she doesn't believe any fish lost their lives competing in the races.

Nagle thinks it may have been a video posted on the Tap Room's Facebook page that initially set off the response.

The video shows a series of races – in each, two people pour their goldfish from cups into the racing troughs. They then spray the fish with water from squirt bottles to encourage them to swim faster.

In one of the heats, a man with glasses accidentally dumps his fish onto the wooden table. It flounders as he makes several attempts to get it back into his cup, finally scooping the fish back into the water. The next man up does it again. Both fish are seen alive after their respective ordeals.

Vaughan said PETA's concern was two-fold: both for the fish and for potentially unsanitary situations for the patrons.

"I think a lot of people don’t actually think about the cruelty involved with something like this, but it is important for people to know that fish do have a very developed nervous system ...There’s no doubt that they do actually feel pain," said Vaughan.

After several weeks of what Holder and Nagle describe as "harassing" emails and messages, and one incident involving a water balloon filled with red paint, the two decided to call off the weekly races (that's not to say they'd be opposed to a private birthday party or other event featuring a similar game) and replace them with beer pong last week.

"We applaud, absolutely applaud the Harmon Tap Room for doing this," says Vaughan. "We're very pleased ... they've likely averted a lawsuit or something, because that is a risk."

She says PETA works to encourage people to patronize bars and restaurants that don't participate in activities that may be cruel to animals, and says now the Tap Room is a-okay.

Nagle even received thanks from one of the letter-writers.

On behalf of goldfish, PETA, and all animal advocates everywhere - and most especially myself - I thank you [with] all my heart for promoting beer pong as a replacement for goldfish racing.

Your act of love, kindness and compassion touches me deeply - I am in your gratitude.

But it's the Tap Room that will have the last laugh. Swing by the restaurant this evening and you won't find goldfish racing. In its place you'll find beer pong and a new promotion: Fish Taco Tuesdays.

The goldfish races are just one of a number of beer games Nagle has been organizing. The Tap Room, which serves as the Harmon's main production facility, is the only 21-and-over Harmon establishment and features an outdoor beer garden. A sack of "life-sized" Jenga-like pieces sits by the door awaiting warmer weather, and the owners have been bouncing around the idea of a beer Olympics event. 

Until then, visit the Tap Room's website for their list of weekly events.