Worms will rule the earth!
Posted on 01/06/2007 8:18:54 PM PST by blam
Anglers fear ban on 'cruel' live bait will spread
By Jasper Copping, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:30am GMT 07/01/2007
Anglers are to be banned from using live fish as bait after politicians decided it was cruel.
The ban, which will apply in Scotland, has angered fishermen south of the border who believe it has handed a major victory to animal rights campaigners calling for similar legislation in the rest of Britain.
Steve Greenway, a leading angler from Staffordshire who has been on 105 fishing trips to Scotland, said: "If I thought live bait was cruel, I wouldn't use it. Where will it all end? Do you stop using maggots and worms as well?"
advertisement Mark Barrett, the general secretary of the Pike Anglers' Club of Great Britain, said: "To have the law change like this on your doorstep is going to be a concern for people in the rest of the UK."
The blanket ban was a last-minute amendment to the Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill, which has just passed through the Scottish Parliament without any objections.
It has already been strongly endorsed by Scotland's deputy environment minister Rhona Brankin and will pass through the legislature for a final time in the next three months before becoming law.
Green Party MSP Eleanor Scott, who is deputy convenor of the environment and rural affairs development committee and an architect of the Bill, said: "Anglers won't like me saying it, but fish do feel pain and we felt there was a cruelty issue here."
The politicians also believe live bait threatens fish stocks by introducing alien species into their habitats which may bring diseases and parasites.
Putting live small fish such as roach on a hook is a common tactic for catching larger, predatory fish like trout, perch and pike, which are drawn to the movement.
The coarse fishing industry contributes up to £7 million a year to the Scottish economy. Ron Woods, a policy officer from the Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling, said: "This will hurt fishing tourism."
But Yvonne Taylor, from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said the ban was a "massive first step" in the group's fight for one in the rest of Britain.
Angling is the nation's most popular participation sport, with an estimated four million devotees. In recent years their hobby has been increasingly targeted by animal rights activists. Last summer saw a spate of attacks on fishermen.
Scientists are divided on the issue of whether fish can feel pain.
Absolute insanity............I can't belive this happened in Scotland...they are smart people.
I don't care what it takes to get the filet into my vacuum packer.
I got a friend who calls that stuff "bait"...
Are you psychic or what.....we used to catch some big reds there....back when we were allowed to keep 'em.
Last time I was fishing anywhere near there was 1971 so I'm way out of date.
England. No hunting, no fishing. Will the last (real) man leaving England turn out the lights please?
I fly fish but I've always understood that the reason fly fishing exists is to make it harder to catch fish. When I want to catch some fish to eat I use bait. When I want to spend a day on the river enjoying myself (and catching very few fish) I fly fish.
Wasn't that what Bill Clinton used?
Amen.
However, here in the US, PETA also wants to see the "cruel" sport of fishing banned.
Our grandchildren may see this happen someday.
Who would of thought this would happen in Scotland? I have a friend who is going fishing in Scotland, Africa, and Japan this year. Of course, she is flyfishing. But she'd just as soon dunk a worm, and like me, likes all methods of fishing.
So apparently the basis is that bait can feel pain, but we aren't sure about whether fish can. PETA of course, loves this because the next step is so clear... banning fishing.
Regarding whether or not fish can feel pain, it is worth pointing out that pain doesn't seem to bother fish when they swallow s live spiney baitfish or a live crawdad. They manage.
I can't believe this.
Wonder how they would feel about noodling/hand-fishing?
Can't use live bait because it's not humane? Then, you'll have to kill the little creature first, then fish w/it. Right?
It'll be enforced sitzpinkeling next....
This line of reasoning actually makes sense to me. The "fish feel pain" argument is laughable.
"Oh no...what a dilemma. How far does it go? "
The ultimate wish for PETA radicals is that most or all humans commit suicide and leave the world to the animals.
The least they could do is lead by example.
Now there's an idea I could sink my teeth into :)
Apparently not everyone in Scotland is smart. I don't care what it takes to get the filet into my vacuum packer.
Provided it doesn't violate state fish & game regs. The current regs here at home are by and large okay. Let's home that saner heads prevail when it comes to regs like the one passed in Scotland.
Worms will rule the earth!
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