Higgins said she wanted to make a charity donation instead A pet shop owner who was electronically tagged after selling a goldfish to a 15-year-old boy has said she was "stunned" by the sentence. Joan Higgins, 66, pleaded guilty at Trafford Magistrates' Court to selling an animal to a person under the age of 16 unaccompanied by an adult. She also admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a cockatiel at Major's Pets, in Sale, Greater Manchester. Trafford Council has defended the decision to pursue the prosecution. Higgins said that she had been in the pet trade for 28 years and would never intentionally harm an animal. I would rather have donated something to a charity

Joan Higgins, shop owner She was forced to accept a tag because she is unfit for community work, but said: "I think it's over the top. "I would rather have donated something to a charity... I'd rather have done that than have a tag or a curfew. "You can't always get the balance right. And this particular one (boy) definitely could have passed for 16. "Now in my shop any doubt and I ask them all for ID." Officials sent the boy in to make a test purchase after receiving a complaint the shop had sold a gerbil to a 14-year-old girl with learning difficulties, who later dropped it into a cup of coffee. The boy was sold the fish without his age being questioned or providing any information about its care. Case defended An animal welfare officer also noticed a cockatiel in the store that appeared in distress and, when examined, was found to have a broken leg and eye problem. Higgins was fined £1,000 and ordered to stay in her house between 1800 BST and 0700 BST. The boy bought the goldfish at the pet shop last year Her son Mark Higgins, 47, who manages the shop, also admitted causing unnecessary suffering and was fined £750 and ordered to carry out 120 hours of community work. The case led to a series of national newspaper headlines bemoaning "Big Brother" snooping by local authorities. But Jonathan Coupe, executive councillor at Trafford Council, said on Wednesday he "wanted to set a few facts straight". He said the "main reason we took this prosecution was because the pet shop owner had caused unnecessary suffering to a cockatiel". Trafford Council had already warned the store about not supplying care information to customers, he added. "Magistrates felt the sentence they imposed reflected the level of cruelty caused to the animal." Animal rights group Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) also backed the council's stance. A spokeswoman said: "Ensuring pet shop owners adhere to basic animal welfare standards is the bare minimal that must be expected by authorities, yet cruelty in the pet trade remains the norm, not the exception."



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