Tedious I Know But......

[Alan Roe]

Once again we have those wonderful self publicists PETA taking a pop via the press

if anybody feels like writing a letter to the Independant exposing the wee econazis for what they are please feel free. Please dont write a defence of angling as we do not need to defend angling as that hands these pillocks the agenda.

 

Independent on Sunday 22.10.06

Do fish feel pain?

Just as much as your dog, says a new campaign. That's barking, say anglers

By Geoffrey Lean and Andrew Johnson

Published: 22 October 2006

Animal cruelty campaigners, who shot to fame with anti-fur adverts featuring naked supermodels, are planning to take on their most ambitious target yet: Britain's 2.6 million anglers.

Fish, insists Peta - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - are "complex and intelligent individuals", cleverer than monkeys, who feel pain "like every other animal". So they are preparing posters and lining up celebrities, and models dressed as mermaids, to try to persuade lovers of Britain's most popular sport to end the "terror and suffering".

But the anglers are fighting back, accusing the campaigners of "a lot of hot air" and retorting that fish "simply do not have the brains" to feel pain.

So far, most anti-cruelty campaigners - while vigorously fighting bloodsports such as foxhunting - have given angling a wide berth. Some prominent anglers doubt that Peta will ever have the courage to try publicly to shame so many Britons, headed by such prominent enthusiasts as arch-inquisitors Jeremy Paxman and Chris Tarrant, performers Diana Rigg and Roger Daltrey, and Michelin-starred chef/restaurateur Marco Pierre White.

But the organisation - which has demonstrated against commercial fishing using naked mermaids outside supermarkets - says it is determined to go on to attacking the sport.

Its move comes as BBC2 prepares to launch a new series next month, The Accidental Angler, in which writer Charles Rangeley-Wilson travels the world trying to hook unusual fish.

"Recreational anglers rarely stop to think that fish are smart, interesting animals with their own unique personalities - just like the dogs and cats we share our homes with", says the group in its campaigning literature. "Imagine reaching for an apple on a tree and having your hand suddenly impaled by a metal hook that drags you out of the air and into an atmosphere in which you cannot breathe. That is what fish experience when they are hooked for 'sport'. If anglers treated cats, dogs, cows or pigs the way they treat fish, they would be thrown into prison on charges of cruelty."

They cite a growing number of studies that show that fish create maps of their surroundings, can be trained to perform tasks and can remember how to repeat actions nearly a year later. And they quote Culum Brown, at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, as saying: "In many areas, such as memory, their cognitive powers match or exceed those of 'higher vertebrates', including non-human primates."

Two-and-a-half years ago the Royal Society published what it called "the first conclusive evidence indicating pain perception in fish", concluding that pain produced "profound behavioural and physiological changes in fish over a prolonged period of time, comparable to those in higher mammals".

The singer Chrissie Hynde said yesterday: "A true sport is one in which each party is a willing participant. I support Peta's campaign because angling is making a bloodbath of our beautiful lakes, rivers and oceans."

Carré Otis, an actress and modelwho poses as a mermaid in the posters, adds: "I was in a sushi bar and it dawned on me - how could I discriminate between a cow and a fish?"

But Marco Pierre White, a keen salmon fisherman, attacked Peta: "They obviously lead very boring lives," he said. "If that's the best they can do, they should get out more."

And Dr Bruno Broughton, the director of the Fishing and Angling Conservation Trust, says the campaign is just "a lot of hot air", adding: "Fish lack the parts of the brain necessary for the registration of pain."

On The Ball: living proof that fish are far from stupid

Albert Einstein is living proof that fish are brainy, say campaigners. A three-year-old goldfish, he has been trained by his owners, computer scientist Dean Pomerleau and his son Kyle, 10, who live near Pittsburgh, to fetch a toy football, shoot it into a goal, and even dance the limbo. "I spend half my life telling people that fish aren't stupid," says Culum Brown, a specialist in fish behaviour at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

[david t]

Those PETA lot are simply brain washing extremists, that try to chip into the minds of the public by triggering off little sensitive parts of the mind, such as comparing fish to the so called cuddly and cute monkeys.

The general public is slowly starting to wise to their schemes I think, and they are beginning to see that they are simply after world domination, its just they are trying to go for it indirectly, going through the back door so to speak. I think people will get fed up with them soon, and their plans will back fire on them, when the general, non angling, non hunting, non horse racing, non greyhound racing, non pigeon racing, non ferretting public start to see that PETA are trying to infringe and change their general lives too. They will probably call for a ban on clarks and other shoe shops that sell leather goods soon, then the public will revolt against the bu%*ers.

 

just out of interest, how many walks of life/hobbies/sports are there that peta are against?

I can think of:

fishing, hunting, ferreting, horse racing, shooting, pigeon racing.

 

im sure there are more that peta want to ban.

[chelmerpaul]

"Recreational anglers rarely stop to think that fish are smart, interesting animals with their own unique personalities"

 

 

That's strange - I thought all of us anglers knew that. Most of us have had a lifetime studying fish and their behaviour - we know they can be smart, Goddammit. Carp anglers even name their fish, so they are certainly unique individual fish in their eyes.

 

I reckon we have got no worries with these w**kers. The arguments for angling totally outweigh the antis. Just think - how many fish / wildlife habitats have been created / maintained by anglers groups. How many species of course fish would actually become endangered / extinct without anglers? Put that against the minimal (in the worst cases) damage caused by a few irresponsible anglers. Our arguments are watertight. Most "average" non-anglers see angling as boring / eccentric at worst - these are the people whose opinions matter far more than a few extremist nutters. Let's just be vigilant and use our logical arguments to defeat these lunatics.

[Andrew Boyd]

PETA will be in for the long term, they will know that a simple run of adverts will not make much difference. What they will aim to do over the course of many years is change public opinion. Thankfully fish are not covered in cute fur with big baby eyes. A picture of a colourfull Rudd can be countered with a picture of the business end of a Pike. But as money is raised clever adverts targeted at public sections will change peoples perception. This threat should not be ignored.

[bingo]

I believe the corret spelling is P*ta or P**a. We don't want to give these lovely people any more publicity.

[Leon Roskilly]

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/farming/col...-name_page.html

 

"The appalling suffering caused to wildlife through what is, after all, just a leisure-time activity, is unforgivable, unacceptable, and quite immoral."

[Anderoo]

"I know there are a lot of responsible fishermen out there who know the dangers that fishing tackle can pose to wildlife, but there are too many others who have a 'don't care' attitude.

 

"Unfortunately, the ones who will write will be the careful, caring and considerate ones - not the ones who don't give a damn about wildlife, and who couldn't care less about the potentially lethal rubbish that they leave behind."

 

Hard to argue against really. Every decent angler will be angry about this for two reasons - firstly, that a bird has died a painful death because of discarded line, and second that in some way we as anglers are in some way responsible. I actually agree that the appalling suffering caused to wildlife through what is, after all, just a leisure-time activity, is unforgivable, unacceptable, and quite immoral. The frustrating thing is that it doesn't have to be that way and for the majority it isn't. I can quite understand how a selfish and idiotic minority can give the impression that the majority of anglers are the blame - you'd never know if a good angler has been fishing or not.

 

Rant over!

[carpstar]

"I know there are a lot of responsible fishermen out there who know the dangers that fishing tackle can pose to wildlife, but there are too many others who have a 'don't care' attitude.

 

"Unfortunately, the ones who will write will be the careful, caring and considerate ones - not the ones who don't give a damn about wildlife, and who couldn't care less about the potentially lethal rubbish that they leave behind."

 

Hard to argue against really. Every decent angler will be angry about this for two reasons - firstly, that a bird has died a painful death because of discarded line, and second that in some way we as anglers are in some way responsible. I actually agree that the appalling suffering caused to wildlife through what is, after all, just a leisure-time activity, is unforgivable, unacceptable, and quite immoral. The frustrating thing is that it doesn't have to be that way and for the majority it isn't. I can quite understand how a selfish and idiotic minority can give the impression that the majority of anglers are the blame - you'd never know if a good angler has been fishing or not.

 

Rant over!

 

Well said!! This is a problem with any sport,activity that there will alway's be a minority spoiling it for everyone else

[Peter M]

Litter is a problem in society not just a problem in angling. Ever been on the beach in the evening after a warm summer day and see the mountains of litter that day trippers leave that will get washed into the sea and cause a threat to marine wildlife. whereas most beach anglers leave very little sign that they were even there when they pack up. i don't say we should be complacent and we should fight litter in our sport with all the energy at our disposal.

[david t]

Well said!! This is a problem with any sport,activity that there will alway's be a minority spoiling it for everyone else

 

Its the same with cycling, anyone can get on a bike and be labelled a cyclist, whether they are a tit head or not, and make people think that all cyclists are rogue maniacs, when in reality there are a lot of them that are serious and actually belong to a club and national body.

 

Until we start doing a test for every new angler, we will continue to get a few mongrels among the prize winning pedigrees. in other words, its impossible to prevent.

 

I disagree though that we have nothing to worry about with the antis though, what you must remember is, they have an innfinate amount of time with which to chip away at anglings image, where as anglers dont have that same guarantee. Also, they have absolutely nothing to lose, we have everything to lose, and as such, while we have to act like we are on inspection, they can play dirty til the cows come home, and not damage their cause.

 

This kind of post does seem to come up regulary though.