[Hildy]

I pity the poor fool who tries to stop my husband from fishing.

[kerryusama04]

Good grief. This is a sign of too much affluence. If you have the time, energy, and mindset to even think about this stuff, then you have too much time on your hands.

[lndrvr1972]

You have got to be kidding me?

[capt. norm]

Half the fun of fishing in the coastal waters of the Gulf is throwing a cast net to catch your live bait and then using that bait to catch something of decent size for dinner.

[sheik yerbouty]

In the UK do they ban TROP practice of cutting the throats of animals before Eid al Adha? I think not. Yet their week kneeked politicians will give them a pass.

[jordan8]

I'm all for this ban. At night, when it's quiet, I hear the crickets screaming . . .

[Mad Dawg]

Fish feel pain so we must stop killing them.

Human fetuses, on the other hand ...

[TomGuy]

The politicians also believe live bait threatens fish stocks by introducing alien species into their habitats which may bring diseases and parasites.

That is stretching it to come up with a reason for this law. At least the guy didn't say it was for the chiiiiiillllldreeeeen.

[AnnaZ]

Last summer saw a spate of attacks on fishermen.

Scientists are divided on the issue of whether fish can feel pain.

Well, we already know that fishermen can, frickin' hypocritical double-standard activist morons.

[pissant]

I think using live politicians for shark bait would vastly improve teh world.

[ApplegateRanch]

Force bass and other game fish to go vegan; or at the least, humanely slaughter their food before eating it.

Until then, I will continue to use live bait, as conditions warrent.

[SoldierDad]

Scratch Scotland from my list of places to go for fishing. Cruelty to bait? Tell that to the fish who eat those baitfish as part of their normal diet. When they stop eating baitfish, I'll stop using them as bait.

[dayglored]

Next, are they gonna ban sushi?

I got a friend who calls that stuff "bait"...

[Fido969]

Idiot Scots - there is also a movement there to banish kitchen knives. "Braveheart", indeed.

[El Gato]

These people, not all Brits, just these idiots, deserve to be overrun by the Muzzies, who will not care a fig for the bait fish. Except of course as bait, or food.

[saganite]

England. No hunting, no fishing. Will the last (real) man leaving England turn out the lights please?

[TN4Liberty]

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.

[GBA]

Oh no...what a dilemma. How far does it go? If using live bait is cruel, then isn't fishing cruel also? But catching fish in a net isn't cruel? But why care only about the fish? What about insects? Should I not spray the wasps that build their homes on my house or stomp on the cockroach for fear that they may spend their last moments in writhing in agony that I, a human, caused them? Or worse, that I enjoyed causing??? There is so much to think about here at the top of the food chain.

[T-Bird45]

Wonder how they would feel about noodling/hand-fishing?

[mewzilla]

It'll be enforced sitzpinkeling next....