PETA hooks the wrong fish

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | 07/29/05 | Eric Heyl

[smoothsailing]

PETA hooks the wrong fish

By Eric Heyl

Friday, July 29, 2005

I was in a custom auto shop yesterday, and as you might imagine, the topic of whether fish are capable of experiencing pain was broached.

I know, I know. Seems like you can't take a car in to be turbo-charged these days without having a discussion on the sensory capabilities of cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates.

"I never really thought too much about it before," said Meagan Barker, co-owner of Strict Fab Automotive Solutions on Route 51 in Jefferson Hills. "But no, I don't think a fish can actually feel a hook in its mouth."

Barker is thinking about such things with greater frequency since her exposure to the latest outlandish publicity stunt by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PETA is protesting the sadistic animal cruelty it believes will occur in town this weekend at the CITGO Bassmaster Classic. The radical animal rights group is using as its tool an ad on a huge billboard directly above Strict Fab.

The ad features a computer-altered picture of a dog with a fish hook through its bloody lip and poses the question," If you wouldn't do this to a dog, why do it to a fish?"

Possibly because dogs and fish aren't really comparable creatures.

You can't walk, pet or groom a fish.

Try asking a bass to fetch a stick.

Or submerging a dog -- of any breed -- under water for a prolonged period. A few initial yelps of protest are liable to be followed by uninterrupted silence.

When it comes to animal blood sport, fishing never has ranked up there with pit bull fighting. Scientists and zoologists can't even agree on whether fish are intelligent enough to be cognizant of pain.

Given those facts, it's...

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

What does a fish feel when it is eaten by another fish?

:)

[MA~Bear]

Back several years ago I was listing to a radio program where a Higher up in the PETA organization was trying to make their case against using(I believe it was) Baboon Hearts in a child to keep them alive until a human donor could be found. Because of her answer it has stuck in my mind all these years. Now personally if it were my child, use what you want as long as I can have them live another day. Well the talk host found out she had a young child of 6 and put it to her point blank, your kid came down with a heart infection, she has 48 hours to live, the only thing that would save her would be that baboon heart transplant, and if you don't do it, she will die. So would you allow the Drs to do it? She replied I would find another way, after about 5 minutes of avoiding to really answer the question, the host said So you mean you would rather let you child die, and let the baboon live. She said yes, killing another living thing is wrong, even if it were to save her daughter. Right then and there, my heart sunk and prayed to God that her child would never hear what her mother said. It is sad when they care more about animal life then human life.

[woofer]

"I never really thought too much about it before," said Meagan Barker, co-owner of Strict Fab Automotive Solutions on Route 51 in Jefferson Hills. "But no, I don't think a fish can actually feel a hook in its mouth."

I have thought about it. And I have come to the conclusion that the bass really enjoy the hooks.

Why else would they leap out of the water at the end of my line and dance that happy dance. It's ecstasy! They love it!

Later, while the happy little bass filets are sizzling on the barby, I imagine all the other happy bass out there in uncounted lakes just about bursting with anticpation of a light coating of butter and a squeeze of lemon as they warm themselves above my coals.

Mmmmmm, bass.

[freepatriot32]

i really cant believe they would use a dog in thier ads so soon after it has bveen exposed nationally how peta treats the dogs and cats intrusted to its care click the link Ad Launched To Highlight PETA Animal Cruelty

[freepatriot32]

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

List of Ping lists

[Popman]

True story: A catfish once bite my thumb while I was cleaning it. I cut it's head off before I skinned it and the head jumped at my thumb and took a nice little chuck out of it.

I have no idea how it did it, and no I wasn't drunk.............yet

[Glenn]

We tore down all the steel mills 'n 'at.

Shouldn't that count for something?

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[goldstategop]

These are the same animal lovers that have been quietly killing cats and dogs in gas vans when no one was looking. Animal rights is a brand of speciesism that has been exposed as a complete fraud.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[razorback-bert]

True dog sniffing story, one of cockers stood up and sniffed a "lady".

Her reply, "he can't do that he hasn't paid."


she wasn't trying to be funny and didn't know why we were laughing so hard.

[Smokin' Joe]

A friend had a doberman who would do that--forcibly sniff...

We'd just laugh and say "He's seeing who you know..."

[Sensei Ern]

You gotta hear, "Cats in the Kettle" at
http://www.bobrivers.com/audiovault/tunes/tunes.asp?Var=C

I know it isn't about dogs, but good.

[herkbird]

Once upon a time, I was on a deep sea fishing trip where I caught a huge Red snapper. As the fishing slowed, I decided to pull my big Red Snapper out to have another look at it, as it was only a half pound short of the Georgia state record at 31 pounds.

Darn if a Coral eating Trigger fish didn't try to bite my finger off as I was digging down for that Big Red Snapper. I yanked my hand out of the fish box and I've never stuck it in another fish box that had fish with the potential to take a finger or hand off again.

A Trigger fish eats Coral and has teeth that look just like a humans. They are an extremely muscular fish and are even very hard to cut up, although they are very tasty and Great eating. Unless they are completely dead, they'll put a heck of a bite on you if they can.

I no longer care about fish feeling pain, It's an eye for an eye, and death for biting my finger.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

"I sense injuries. The data could be called pain."

[PeterPrinciple]

but not okay to eat dogs, cats, monkeys, and dolphins?

It is cultural, we just don't eat those animals here in the US.......... for the most part, well, maybe not much, ok it happens.

[Mr. Lucky]

How about a dogfish or a mudpuppy?

[rock58seg]

You have apparently never been to Korea or China.

Let's play fill in the ethnic blanks:

Q: What do you call a _____________ with a dog?
A: Vegetarian

Q: What do you call a ____________ with two dogs?
A: Rancher

[rock58seg]

TO sort of paraphrase JFnk: "There is nothing I like more than crawling through the mesquite brush and fireants on my stomach stalking white wing doves."

[LtKerst]

PETA People are sick and Obsessive, If God didnt want us to Eat Animals...why did he make them Taste soo GOOD!!!


SAVE The Whales!!!.....Untill we get more Tartar Sauce!

[rock58seg]

the head jumped at my thumb and took a nice little chuck out of it.

What a crock load that is.

First of all: catfish have no teeth to speak of.

Second of all: When we need to handle a really large (up to 80 lbs.) catfish on a trotline, we grab them in the mouth. Easier to handle and get into the boat.