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Pet eel "Aalfred" allowed to stay in German bathtub |
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| GERMANY: February 4, 2003 | ||
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BOCHUM, Germany - "Aalfred" the pet eel, who was threatened with eviction from a German family's bathtub where he has lived since 1969, can stay at home provided he gets a piece of pipe to sleep in, authorities ruled yesterday.
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Aalfred (Aal means eel in German) has become a celebrity in Germany, even appearing on television recently after newspapers reported his long stay with the Richter family. Paul Richter caught the eel 33 years ago, and after the Richter children refused to eat the eel for supper, Aalfred was put in the tub and became a part of the family, decanted to a bucket only when someone needed to bathe. But animal rights activists complained Aalfred was being held under unnatural circumstances and asked authorities in the western city of Bochum to release the eel into the wild. A veterinarian sent to examine the 90 cm (36 inch) eel found him well-nourished and apparently happy, said city spokeswoman Barbara Gottschlich. "He's a bit more lightly coloured than a wild eel, but otherwise he is fine." Bochum informed the Richters they could keep Aalfred if they installed an arm-length pipe which would allow him to rest more comfortably. "This was the only reasonable outcome," Paul Richter told Reuters yesterday. "In any case, we would have protected Aalfred."
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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