Now that fox hunting is against the law, should fishing for pleasure be banned?

Question

Is impailing worms/maggots on barbed hooks in order to catch fish which are not for food, an acceptable practice?

Stop getting "up on your high horse" both Pro & Anti. It's a QUESTION, not an opinion.

Answer 1

If it wasn't for the revenue from licences and the vigilance of fishermen our rivers would be in a state. How much time do the antis spend near the water, how much knowledge do they have of aquatic life and what are they doing to keep rivers and ponds maintained. I've been in a syndicate before, the lake was dug on an old grass-track racing track. The lake is teeming with life, we maintained it and paid particular attention ti the wildlife that we were keen to attract to the water, from insects up to water birds and even mammals such as the water vole which is supposed to be extremely rare. Pffft I've seen them every time I visited the lake. Anglers can also recognise the first signs of disease and nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand.

What next? Ban fly spray?

Answer 2

Fishing has more participants than any other 'sport' in the UK and across the world. FACT.
What a lot of people don't know is that fishing was originally carried out by individuals for food and only became a 'sporting' activity around 1930. The question is, Is it a sport or a pastime? The answer is yes to both, financial reward in tough competitions are held globally every year and more people immerse themselves in this 'art' for pleasure and to relax.
Have you ever seen a maggot or worm physically make an escape once they have seen the hook?
the majority of fish have no nerves or senses in front of their eyes, therefore, if angled for correctly, i.e hooked in the lips internally or externally, the fish would not feel any pain whatsoever.
Basically don't ban, it would loose the UK economy around £200 million income per year, create the loss of thousands of jobs and increase the costs of other goods that we all buy every day.

Answer 3

There has to be a line drawn somewhere and i think it's about right where we have it at the moment.

The debate of fish feeling any pain from a hook is still out, and although i don't fish i'm comfortable knowing what happens when they are caught.
At the end the majority are released back rather than being killed and put on a plate, i know what option i would go for if it was me.

I think Fox hunting is something diffrent, if they are a pest then we should have proffesionals killing them, not 50 people on horseback with a hundred dogs who rip them to pieces when they are too exhausted to run any more.

We can't ban everything, but fox hunting is no great loss.

Answer 4

There's a very important new development that should be included in this discussion.

In short the development is:

World seafood supply could run out by 2048.



I wish I could make that bold. But basiclly the scientific community is telling us that if we continue fishing worlwide, as we are now (no increases needed) we will not have fish as a food source anymore, ever, never. (see link below).

Things are being done about it already, or at least governments are talking about doing things. This is still kinda new (but verified) info.

Kinda goes to the whole, there's lots of fish so it's okay argument.

As a fisherman I say catch and release fishing should almost always be okay.

Maybe they can do catch and release fox hunting? Like maybe w/ paint balls? Or a tranq dart?

Answer 5

Who said Fox hunting is against the law? And no, fishing shouldn't be banned. Who cares what a maggot or worm feels when impailed on a hook?

Answer 6

I have always been against factory farming. I have been a vegetarian for over a decade because I hate factory farming and the way animals are slaughtered mechanically. Being kept in poor conditions and then having the sterile soulless death of a machine putting a metal bolt through the skull would be hell. On the other hand I am for bull fighting because the bulls are kept in excellent conditions and always go down fighting. I think there are better ways of killing foxes than fox hunting, but there are probably worse ways too. Anyway that is my opinion.

Answer 7

On a nice warm sunny day, with a few cold beers at my side, there is nothing wrong with a bit of coarse fishing.

Even if they did ban it for a sport, how would they prove that you were not fishing for food?
In commercial fishing, small fish are not allowed to be caught, so unless they caught you putting a big one back, it is unenforceable.

The Romanians would love it, they catch our coarse fish for food, much to the angst of the anglers, so they could carry on.

No it should not be stopped, there is too much industry involved, unlike fox hunting which tended to be for a privileged few.

Perhaps we should ban football because of violence, motor sport because of the burning of fuel, cycling because that is dangerous......

Answer 8

I can only speak for myself.I use barbless hooks and treat the fish with respect.I catch and release.I use mainly luncheon meat as bait but didn't kill to obtain it.I have never known a fish to come toward me when hooked, they pull away, as they feel no pain(no senses in lip)
When young and naive i went on one fox hunt,only to see a fox torn to shreds and hear it's screams. My friend was then bloodied (wiped with the foxes blood)It made me sick.
On comparison, fishing by the majority of fisherpersons is a kind,gentle, relaxing sport.
I have caught the same carp on my local water 3 times(tagged)
how many foxes have been caught twice?Hope i helped you.

Answer 9

You're kidding right?

I feel sorry for sportsman in Britain.They're slowly losing their right to do enjoy any form of the outdoors.And the saddest part of it is you stupid Anti hunting Libs are the minority.

If fishing is banned then I think you should hook your self and let people take turns horsing you around on the pole and string the hook's attached to.I think we should ban stupid questions like this from Answers.Although I wouldn't expect anyone who uses words like 'poppycock' to come up with an intelligent question anyways.

Answer 10

Fox hunting has NOT been banned, only hunting with dogs.

I cannot comprehend why anyone would want to dangle a fish by the mouth on a hook purely for the pleasure of capturing it and then throwing it back. I find that abhorrent.
Catching fish for food is an entirely different business altogether.