Do you think people who abandon their pets should be fined?

I totally agree with you. If they aren't fined, how are they going to learn? It makes me think of, whilst mostly unrelated, something about the National Health Service in this country. Often patients' health are at risk due to malpractice, but due to the NHS's red tape policies and often spending their budget on trivialities, the only way they'll learn sometimes is if somebody sues the pants off them if the allegations are serious. The same logic applies to many things. Thieves will never learn if they're let off the hook quickly by the police. Abusive pet owners might cause another pet unnecessary pain if they decide to get one again.

There are services out there that can help people find their pets a new home should they be in a financial crisis, if they don't have other means (e.g. relatives or friends). As for the fish question on Y!A, it was probably a troll. Many questions on that site are written by trolls with nothing better to do. As I stated, I don't think a financial crisis is justifiable grounds for causing a pet harm. However, many illnesses can be debilitating, so sometimes an owner can be afflicted with something serious that may cause them to inadvertently neglect a pet. For this reason, I don't think owners should be fined if their reason is a health problem. (As long as it's genuine.)