Fishing is cruel ??

[mungus]

Haha well put Vat69

Of course fishing is cruel, there are multiple papers demonstrating the complex sensory systems of fish, they feel pain just like any other living creature. Just because they do not have the same range of movement available to demonstrate their pain does not mean they are not feeling it.

As someone else said, I dont think any of the survey options suit me. Banning fishing is an impossible task. I think that technology to assist with the humane euthanasia of fish that are caught should be a focus of time and money from interested animal welfare groups. Bashing / suffocation to kill fish is NOT humane.

So perhaps we should be working towards educating fishermen and providing them with simple systems to help them treat the animals they are catching for food in a more ethical manner.

Surely the fish deserve a little respect, having given up their lives just for you to have a meal.

Having said all that, I am a pretty keen fisherman, I only do catch and release (however I dont see a problem with eating them as long as they are abundant), but each time I go out i find myself having more trouble justifying the pain im causing the fish just for the selfish pleasure of having a look at them. I wish they made pain-free hooks!

" justify the pain im causing the fish just for the selfish pleasure of having a look at them "
Hope your dead-set pulling my left leg here........................:shock::shock:

 

[hornet]

yes, i agree it is cruel but by that same token i will not stop fishing, its an integral part of the Aussie life style.

 

[cris]

" justify the pain im causing the fish just for the selfish pleasure of having a look at them "
Hope your dead-set pulling my left leg here........................:shock::shock:

Well thats the only reason for catch and release fishing isnt it? apart from the pulling bit obviously. Like "wow this thing is really ___ of about being impaled on a hook and is fighting for its life, I wonder if i can overpower this animal thats about 3% my mass".

 

[Reptile_Boy]

fish feel pain but what dosnt? fishing has been around for 1000snds of years it is in our nature to catch and eat and now days we do it catch and realese. we keep what we need. here and there some are tropheyed. but it isnt like every one who fishes just kills for fun.

 

[thepythonpit]

Well thats the only reason for catch and release fishing isnt it? apart from the pulling bit obviously. Like "wow this thing is really ___ of about being impaled on a hook and is fighting for its life, I wonder if i can overpower this animal thats about 3% my mass".

hahahahah, god ive heard it all now ..

 

[Hooglabah]

That isnt relevant to the point i was trying to make, consider the bait example only if you are only interested in practical examples. The example was in relation to the level of cruelty, whether something is legal or sustainable has nothing to do with cruelty.

1. 90% of the time you use frozen bait
2. REAL FISHERMEN DONT FEEL SORRY FOR THE BAIT!!!!

 

[Hooglabah]

also this thread is pointless cuz animal rights activists have been trying to ban hunting and firearms for years now and have failed for years now the closest they came was banning fox hounding (wich is a good thing they did for once) and the use of lead shot on ducks.

By that reasoning they have no hope of banning one of this countries most popular national sports especialy after the cluster frell with the port phillip bay dredgeing.

 

[Hooglabah]

also as an after thought the stress of being caught and release on a fish probably isnt that stressful personally when you think about how small somthing like a bream is. to explain your average bream in victoria is about 500 g - 1kg thats pretty small there for a target for every bigger fish around. i reckon getting caught and put back would be considered a really good day in a fishes mind.

 

[Jewly]

I have no problem with the average person going out fishing as long as they do it responsibly and they are actually catching the fish to eat. I did a lot of fishing when I was younger and we made sure we only took a small amount of fish that we were going to consume ourselves.

However, I think sport fishing is totally cruel and unnecessary and I do think that should be banned. I don't care what sort of bait or lure that is used, the fish does still suffer and for no good reason other than for someone to 'enjoy' the thrill of the catch.

 

[HoffOff]

1. 90% of the time you use frozen bait
2. Real fishermen dont feel sorry for the bait!!!!

i agree

 

[cris]

2. REAL FISHERMEN DONT FEEL SORRY FOR THE BAIT!!!!

Good point, that was sort of what i was getting at. The whole idea that we should have empathy for animals is purely opinion, its just hypocritical when some ppl jump up and down about trivial cruelty issues such as backyard snake surgery, burning snakes to death, using snakes as live bait etc. yet when the same amount of suffering is caused to a fish(or bycatch) for "sport" its all ok.

 

[JasonL]

haha, I never use frozen, lures, flies, fresh or live for me..... though I often use bread for Drummer of the rocks....

 

[Reptile_Boy]

Hetty, RedEyeGirl, xshadowx, zoocam


explain please

 

[SlothHead]

As alluded to in a past post. Ostensibly, sport fishing has been banned in Sweden from next year on. Interestingly, Sweden is a country that seems to lead the way on many ethical issues, so it really is signs of the future.

 

[Sdaji]

Hetty, RedEyeGirl, xshadowx, zoocam


explain please

I think their explanation would be that it is cruel to drag a fish out of water (the stuff it needs to be in to live) by a barbed hook impaling its mouth just for your own entertainment. If we were to do the same thing to a bird or mammal we'd be in serious legal trouble and if we did it to a reptile we'd be ostracised from the reptile community. Presumably these four people believe that it is a double standard to use different rules for fish.

I go fishing from time to time and wish I could go more... actually this thread has given me the urge to do it. I eat what I catch (unless it's poisonous, gravid etc). I would never fish purely for sport as I wouldn't choose to entertain myself by torturing an animal, but if that's what people want to do, fair enough, the mainstream culture doesn't currently have a problem with it. I find it astonishing that deliberately catching a fish you intend to release is still condoned, even by people who would be furious with someone who handles a snake too often or too roughly. If fish could scream or pull sad faces I have no doubt fishing would be frowned upon (as hunting mammals often is now), and fishing purely for sport would be illegal. As I said, I have no quarrel with people who sport fish (and incidentally, if you want to hunt deer, pigs, etc, I encourage you), although I don't think it will still be legal by the time everyone reading this thread dies. When the first law was passed to protect captive horses from cruelty, by a narrow vote, someone scoffed and said (very sarcastically) "Next they'll pass a law to protect dogs!" and everyone laughed at such an absurd notion. These days people sometimes go to jail for cruelty to dogs, or even cats, and we even have laws protecting mice! In Australia (unlike most countries) we even have laws preventing cruelty to crustaceans. Sometimes things you think will never change do.

 

[SlothHead]

I think their explanation would be that it is cruel to drag a fish out of water (the stuff it needs to be in to live) by a barbed hook impaling its mouth just for your own entertainment. If we were to do the same thing to a bird or mammal we'd be in serious legal trouble and if we did it to a reptile we'd be ostracised from the reptile community. Presumably these four people believe that it is a double standard to use different rules for fish.

I go fishing from time to time and wish I could go more... actually this thread has given me the urge to do it. I eat what I catch (unless it's poisonous, gravid etc). I would never fish purely for sport as I wouldn't choose to entertain myself by torturing an animal, but if that's what people want to do, fair enough, the mainstream culture doesn't currently have a problem with it. I find it astonishing that deliberately catching a fish you intend to release is still condoned, even by people who would be furious with someone who handles a snake too often or too roughly. If fish could scream or pull sad faces I have no doubt fishing would be frowned upon (as hunting mammals often is now), and fishing purely for sport would be illegal. As I said, I have no quarrel with people who sport fish (and incidentally, if you want to hunt deer, pigs, etc, I encourage you), although I don't think it will still be legal by the time everyone reading this thread dies. When the first law was passed to protect captive horses from cruelty, by a narrow vote, someone scoffed and said (very sarcastically) "Next they'll pass a law to protect dogs!" and everyone laughed at such an absurd notion. These days people sometimes go to jail for cruelty to dogs, or even cats, and we even have laws protecting mice! In Australia (unlike most countries) we even have laws preventing cruelty to crustaceans. Sometimes things you think will never change do.

Well said, and agree, as hunting has become something that is frowned upon, fishing will go the same way, the obvious extension here is, will ever pets then be frowned upon.
Arguements such as "If people want a pet they can go and see them at Zoos"
Or maybe this would open the "rent a pet" business right up which has just began in the US

 

[cris]

Well said, and agree, as hunting has become something that is frowned upon, fishing will go the same way, the obvious extension here is, will ever pets then be frowned upon.
Arguements such as "If people want a pet they can go and see them at Zoos"
Or maybe this would open the "rent a pet" business right up which has just began in the US

Pets are already frowned upon by PETA and other similar organisations, the funny thing is most of their members probably have pets :lol:

 

[JJS.]

I fish at least a few times a week.
The only fish i eat is what i catch myself (unless down the fish and chips shop)
I think catching your own is far more sustainable than commercial boats going out with nets. People criticize fishing, yet they head down to the supermarket a few times a week and buy fish that has been caught (not to mention everything else caught at the same time) in nets. Really they are supporting something that would cause far more damage.
Having said that, not all fisherman practice good fishing, some will leave fishing line and rubbish discarded wherever they have been, or will fish out heaps of juveniles. Luckily this is in the minority. People can't really criticize recreational fishing then head down and buy fish from the shop.
I only keep what I'm going to eat.

 

[JasonL]

Keeping un domestic pets is frowned upon now by many people, I personally think it's worse to keep a snake in a cage than it is to catch a fish and let it go. I'm sure plenty will dis-agree, but it's what I think.

 

[reece89]

Fishing is nowhere near cruel......
but dont you get fined for releasing carp?
Id never stop fishing for people who are having a cry about how fishing is cruel.