Fishing is seen by some to be a hobby and a way to reconnect with nature and enjoy the outdoors. However, as a near-vegan animal advocate, I would like to say that it is cruel. Let me explain...
In her book "do fish feel pain?", professor of fisheries and biology Victoria Blaithwaite explores the concept of fish feeling pain. Apparently, she concludes that fish do have the mental capacity to feel pain. She also states that there is as much evidence that fish feel pain and suffer as there is for birds and mammals.
With this in mind, if I am correct, an angler may put a hook with bait on it into water. When a fish comes around to eat the food off of the hook, the hook will be pulled up through the fish's mouth, tearing through their mouth/lip and/or their head. The fish will then be pulled out of the water into a completely alien environment in which they can't breathe properly, where they will either suffocate or be killed more directly by the angler's hands (e.g with a rock). If similar cruelty was done to cats and dogs in this country, it would be classed as animal cruelty and it would be illegal, resulting in cruelty charges for the culprits.
I can understand that some people may need to fish in order to eat them in order to survive, like in survival situations, but to fish just for sport seems wrong to me, even if they eat the fish afterwards. Even "catch and release" fishing, in which the fish are put back into the water, could still cause harm and pain to the fish, especially if done incorrectly.
Please pledge to never fish just for sport and show your support for a ban on sport fishing.
