Three Polish poachers are facing animal cruelty charges for forcing a giant
pike to drink champagne.
Two of them were spotted holding the freshly caught fish while the third
drunkenly tried to pour the contents of the bottle into its mouth.
Prosecutors claim the men deliberately poured the champagne down the
fish's
throat to kill it so they could take it home and eat it.
But the men, who were not named, claimed they spotted the giant fish in
difficulty at the side of the lake and had hoped the champagne might give
it
a new lease of life.
Polish media quoted one of the men as saying: "The poor thing was on it's
last legs, we wanted to warm it up so it could enjoy the New Year."
A guest at a nearby New Year Party spotted the trio at Opole in Poland as
they pulled the fish out of the water and snapped them as they forced it
to
swallow the champagne.
The court case on charges of animal cruelty and poaching will take place
later this year. They could face up to two years in jail.
Story filed: 11:57 Friday 9th January 2004
Robin
