Magic Goldfish is Animal Cruelty? Aww Now C'mon!

[MA-Caver]

This guy (in China) has a neat trick. But animal rights activists are crying foul (or FISH!) and accuse the magician of animal cruelty. They're suspecting magnets have been placed inside the fish's body and are manipulated to swim in tandem and so forth.
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/fishy-trick-magic-with-goldfish-stokes-anger-24223417

Well... is it any more cruel than say giving a goldfish to a kid who will feed it everyday for the first week, three times a week the 2nd, once a week the 3rd? Then wake up one morning to have to flush the fish down the toilet? (ok an exaggeration)...
They're fish okay... what about keeping them confined in a backyard pond? :idunno:
I guess cruelty takes on a whole new meaning when they're asked to perform for people's entertainment... like a dog on Late Night with David Letterman.

 

[Flea]

If the magician has nothing to hide, why not bring in a veterinarian? A clean bill of health would make the trick all the more fun with that "nuthin up my sleeve" credibility.

Of course, animals can be trained to do all kinds of things. We don't give our fellow species nearly enough credit. Karen Pryor's Don't Shoot the Dog is a really fascinating look into cognitive and behavioral psychology. I'd highly recommend it.