Pet store owner says 25 ornamental pond fish stolen

[April 28, 2008]  INDIANA, Pa. (AP) -- The owner of an Indiana County pet store is sure of one thing: 25 ornamental pond fish didn't walk away from his aquarium. Mike Pearce, the owner of Pearces' Pet Place in White Township, says someone took the koi sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Tuesday. He says the total value of the fish is $800 to $1,000.

State police are investigating.

Pearce said the fish are becoming more popular, so that could have motivated the thefts. But he says animal rights activist might have stolen the fish to release them into the wild.

Pearce says maybe it was a "'Save Willy' type of thing," referring to the movie "Free Willy" in which a captive killer whale is freed.

[Associated Press]

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