malcolm

CLOSE UP ON ANGLING
A cruel sport
http://www.animalaid.org.uk

There are three types of angling - coarse, sea and game. Coarse
angling is by far the most popular and probably the most cruel.

Most types of freshwater fish (ie. from rivers, streams and ponds) are
hunted by coarse anglers, the exceptions being salmon, trout and
grayling. Their target species include pike, roach, perch, rudd, dace,
bleak, bream, tench, barbel, carp and chub. Most are inedible.

As well as a rod, line and hook, coarse anglers have to buy a licence
to enable them to fish. Where a lake, river, c**** or reservoir is
privately owned, a day or season ticket is required.

Maggots are the most common bait and are impaled live onto the hook.
Earthworms, mealworms and bloodworms are used in the same way.
Sometimes livebait is applied - small live fish, usually impaled on
treble hooks to attract predatory fish.

A close season runs from 15 March to 15 June, although regulations
vary in different regions of the country. The close season is supposed
to be a time to allow fish respite during their spawning season,
though it has been scrapped on all still waters (ponds, lakes and
reservoirs) since 1995.

The most common argument used to defend angling is that fish don't
feel pain. This is untrue. Fish are vertebrates, with a brain, a
central nervous system and pain receptors all over their bodies,
including the lips. As with mammals, it is a biological necessity to
feel pain and without this capacity they would not survive. Scientific
research from around the world substantiates this.

In a 1996 report examining the welfare of farmed fish, the Ministry of
Agriculture's official advisory body, the Farm Animal Welfare Council,
noted that:

'Almost all fish live the whole of their lives in water and show a
maximal emergency response when removed from water, even for a very
short period. This response includes changes in heart rate, increased
production of adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol and vigorous
muscle contractions ... All of the scientific evidence concerning such
effects makes it clear that the term stress is certainly relevant to
fish and that the means by which stress effects are mediated are very
similar to those in mammals. Evidence that the term pain is applicable
to fish comes from anatomical, physiological and behavioural studies
whose results are very similar to those of studies on birds and
mammals. The fact that fish are cold blooded does not prevent them
from having a pain system and, indeed, such a system is valuable in
preserving life and maximising the biological fitness of individuals.'
Farm Animal Welfare Council Report on the Welfare of Farmed Fish,
September 1996.

Fish are caught with either a barbed or barbless hook. Barbed hooks
cause more damage and are now banned at an increasing number of
fisheries, but barbless hooks also cause lacerating injuries. Hooked
fish will struggle out of fear and physical pain. They are then
dragged out of the water into an alien environment in which they start
to suffocate, just as we would if we were pulled under water. Their
gills - similar to our lungs - collapse and may bleed. The swim
bladder can rupture due to the sudden change in pressure on their
bodies. Breathing is virtually impossible.

The fish is then handled. Even with wet hands, as recommended by
anglers, this handling removes the invisible outer mucus layer which
provides waterproofing. Fish are consequently left open to infection
if/when eventually returned to water. Time out of water is prolonged
by those who want their photograph taken with their catch in the hope
of getting a picture in an angling magazine.

If injured and traumatised fish survive the ordeal of being caught
they may still die later through stress, or be so weakened that they
are easy prey for predators.

Anglers present themselves as custodians of the countryside. They
claim to be conservationists without whom there would be no fish. Yet
those anglers who monitor waterways, clean up fisheries or take
polluters to court are greatly outnumbered by those who treat their
environment with contempt. Hooks and nylon line is lost or discarded,
with deadly consequences for wildlife. Litter is left behind,
including jagged bait cans. Maggots contaminated with salmonella and
botulism have proved fatal to wildfowl. Trampling of vegetation often
turns banks into mudslides, while the excessive amount of bait which
is catapulted into the water can rot and pollute.

Each year more waterside birds and mammals die because of discarded
monofilament than the total number of swans ever killed by lead
poisoning.

For more information visit the Campaign for the Abolition of Angling's
website at http://www.anti-angling.com.


--


So, you dont like reasoned,
well thought out, civil debate?

I understand.

/´¯/)
/¯../
/..../
/´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
/'/.../..../......./¨¯\
('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
\.................'...../
''...\.......... _.·´
\..............(
\.............\..

derek.moody

Oh it's not so bad for one of Pete's postings - I didn't write it of course
but I'm sure Pete will correct the attribution now that the error has been
flagged.

There's very little in the body of it that's actually contentious although
it's slanted to outrage the naif and gullible - which is presumably why Pete
fell for it.

Cheerio, --

jonathan ball

This is rich, Bunghole, you prickcheese. In your other
****witted post, you copied the anti-hunt hystericals
as saying:

A ban on hunting would inevitably lead to bans on
shooting and fishing...NONSENSE!


But in fact, the same ********ing, urban do-nothings
who want to ban hunting do INDEED want to ban fishing.

**** off, bunghole.

greengrass

SAD BASTARD

malcolm

Very true. How could anyone ever get pleasure from abusing an animal?
I suppose this is where care in the community fails us.

I mean if I want fun I climb a mountain, walk on water, or ride the
rapides. There is no real fun in abuse.

Good point SnodGrass


--


So, you dont like reasoned,
well thought out, civil debate?

I understand.

/´¯/)
/¯../
/..../
/´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
/'/.../..../......./¨¯\
('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
\.................'...../
''...\.......... _.·´
\..............(
\.............\..

derek.moody

Oh it's not so bad for one of Pete's postings - I didn't write it of course
but I'm sure Pete will correct the attribution now that the error has been
flagged.

There's very little in the body of it that's actually contentious although
it's slanted to outrage the naif and gullible - which is presumably why Pete
fell for it.

Cheerio, --

jonathan ball

This is rich, Bunghole, you prickcheese. In your other
****witted post, you copied the anti-hunt hystericals
as saying:

A ban on hunting would inevitably lead to bans on
shooting and fishing...NONSENSE!


But in fact, the same ********ing, urban do-nothings
who want to ban hunting do INDEED want to ban fishing.

**** off, bunghole.

greengrass

SAD BASTARD

malcolm

Very true. How could anyone ever get pleasure from abusing an animal?
I suppose this is where care in the community fails us.

I mean if I want fun I climb a mountain, walk on water, or ride the
rapides. There is no real fun in abuse.

Good point SnodGrass


--


So, you dont like reasoned,
well thought out, civil debate?

I understand.

/´¯/)
/¯../
/..../
/´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
/'/.../..../......./¨¯\
('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
\.................'...../
''...\.......... _.·´
\..............(
\.............\..

mclellan

Hey Malcolm

Where was the motherboard on the computer you used to post that message
made? How much was the worker who made it paid?, were they unionised?, are
they allowed to refuse overtime?, are they paid a living wage?, how old were
they? Do you apply the same eithics you have for fish to everything else you
use on a daily basis?

Squid


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