Fishing / cruelty

[Mac attack]

I was listening to the radio this morning and the presenter said that there was proof that hooks don't hurt or cause discomfort to fish. He said that because the fish swim in the opposite direction to that whch they are being pulled, which obviously pulls the hook more, that it is not a bother to them. If it hurt they would not fight against it and would allow themselves to be pulled by the fisherman. I think that this is rubbish. If I had a hook in my lip and was being pulled underwater I would fight against it with all my strength because I know that the pain in my mouth is a lot less than the pain of drowning!

[burnhal]

Lets put this i perspective a bit....
First of all I object to the term 'thrown back'. Fish are not thrown back- they are placed and held in the water till they have recovered and are able to swim away safely.
Ask yourself how many stretches of our rivers would be desolate wastes of shopping trollies and other junk if it was not for the work of fishing organisations working hand in hand with river authorities.
I fish- what do I get out of it? The peace, the wildlife around me- and the chance of landing a big one! Yes- I know its all very clever being able to outwit a fish of little brain- but where the heck do you get these arguments about manhood etc???? THere are a lot of lady anglers!
Oh- and yes I do my conservation bit- probably more so than most non anglers. I have been in the RSPB as long as I can remember, know more about nature and the outside world than 90% of the population and outside my normal work I work as a volunteer warden on an RSPB reserve- so we arent all as bad as we are painted.
A lot of people do things that I object to... but they have the choice and right to do that. Live a let live a little, huh?

[ganesh]

Yes ,you do sound a little less agressive that hammerman,and I must say I would feel much safer passing by your rod.
You enjoy fishing and until we can 'prove' it's cruel,it won't be banned,so you have every right to do it.
But come on guys (and girls) . We don't need to be rocket scientists to know that animals feel pain.You actually use the word 'recovered'in your comments,burnhal.
Why can't hunters and fishermen just admit that they like what they do and will continue to do so,even though they are causing some suffering,however small.
And yes,many people do objectionable and cruel things but we are discussing 'fishing' here!

[Scylax]

How do I know that fish have a thalamus, Hammerman ?
Daily evidence of mine own eyes ; BSc Physiology,
University of London, '66 - '68, and MSc to follow.

Virtually any text on Comparative Anatomy has all the
evidence that anglers wish to ignore, but
unfortunately there are none so ignorant as those
who do not wish to know. 'Twas ever thus.

Meanwhile, the pain and anguish go on, unheeded
by those who torture for their own amusement.

[robotics]

http://www.animal-lib.org.au/lists/fish/fish.s html