09 December 2011

On Tuesday 22 November Advantage SA had 55 goldfish personally hand-delivered to media buyers in Melbourne and Sydney as part of a larger campaign to attract business to Adelaide.

Every single fish was alive when it arrived at its destination.

Every fish was carefully and personally hand-delivered.

Every fish was left in the care of a person who had agreed to take custody of it. No fish was left without someone to care for it. 

Every fish was housed in a large glass bowl, with fresh water.

Every fish was fed before it was delivered, and was delivered with enough food to last for some time. 

Every fish was sourced from a fish supplier in close proximity to the office to which it was delivered.

After the fish were delivered, Advantage SA received three complaints from the same organisation. The fish were still alive; the complainants were merely concerned that nobody was prepared to care for the fish. Advantage SA immediately offered to pick the fish up and find them suitable homes. The offer was ultimately declined, and the three people opted to care for their fish.

Since Tuesday 22 November Advantage SA has not received any further complaints about the health or welfare of the fish. We learned through an article published on mUmbrella on Monday 5 December that at least one fish had died, and that it had died on Sunday 4 December: 13 days after it had been delivered.

Advantage SA took the utmost care delivering the fish. Every single fish was happy and healthy when it arrived at its destination, and was left in the custody of someone who had agreed to care for it.

Advantage SA has offered to find suitable homes for any unwanted fish.

It was never our intention to cause any harm or distress to the fish, and we unreservedly apologise for any concern this has caused.