Fishing What right have anglers to inflict pain and suffering upon sentient beings? Just because angling is legal and widely-practised does not make it morally acceptable. Just as with hunting and shooting, angling revolves around using and causing suffering to a living creature to provide amusement for human beings. Every year millions of fish suffer and many thousands die, worldwide, as a result of their experiences at the hands of anglers. Looking at the above facts, it is obvious that angling is cruel and that there is every justification to classify it as a bloodsport. Fish are vertebrates with a brain, a central nervous system and pain receptors all over their bodies, including their lips - which cause them to feel extreme pain when their mouths are pierced by hooks. After being hauled from the water they experience an excruciatingly painful decompression, followed by a slow, distressing death by suffocation. Angling inflicts injury, causes pain and trauma to the fish and even if the fish is to be returned to the water, death can still result from handling. Even when using wet hands an angler will remove the protective outer mucous layer, leaving the fish open to infection when returned to the water. There are other negative impacts of angling. Nylon line frequently breaks when hooks become snagged on underwater obstructions or bankside vegetation, or is discarded when it gets tangled during casting. It is only very slowly biodegradable and is the cause of death and injury to millions of animals, including waterfowl, such as swans and ducks. Fish are intelligent individuals who feel pain in the same way that dogs and cats do. Fish learn by watching other fish, recognize each other, remember one another, and exhibit some behaviours comparable to primates’ behaviours. So why do you think that it’s an acceptable activity to kill them? THERE IS NO EXCUSE. FIND ANOTHER ‘HOBBY’. BAN THIS BLOODSPORT NOW!