No judgement here, i am genuinely curious. Today i took a walk through the park and saw a class of children having a school outing, where they were all fishing in the pond. This got me thinking: Why does the conversation about animal welfare never seem to surround the practice of jamming a metal hook through the mouth of an animal only to release it afterwards? Especially around children we’re always talking about having to take good care of animals, and then we teach them to fish?
I mean, as a hunting practice, i get it. But just doing it to throw the fish back in after you caught it? That sounds like a hunter deliberately shooting a deer in the tail just to prove that they can hit it.
Again; I’m not taking some moral highground here; I’m genuinely curious as to why the whole animal rights and animal welfare debate never seems to be touching on this.
Any takers?
EDIT: People seem to be downvoting this post like mad. Let me ellaborate; I live in the Netherlands. And here it is a very common practice to fish recreationally with no intention to eat the fish. The thrill is in the catch, and after the catch the fish is thrown back into the water. As far as i know you’re actually forbidden from killing or eating any fish you catch here recreationally.
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I thought they always put it back if its a baby so that it can grow and have more fish in the future. Or it just isn’t big enough to eat.
Humans have decided fish are so much lesser that their wellbeing isn’t all that important until their decline starts to affect the habitats and populations around them.
I mean, most people who care about animal welfare are not really keen on fishing….
I was always told “it’s okay, they don’t feel any pain, just like bugs!” which turned out to be a total lie. Didn’t find out until ridiculously far into adulthood, I totally fell for it. I think that was a pretty common line of thinking when I was growing up in the 90s.
I dont know where you live, but where i live deer are invasive, they destroy native bush and farmland. i understand in other places like america because they now have less predators they are out of control there too so hunting them needs to be done for the sake of the environment.
I think if your going to fish or hunt then you do it with the intention to eat, and you should do that with children too so they know where it comes from, if your going to eat meat you should respect it. recreational fishing and hunting is nothing compared to industrial fishing and meat farming, spending our time focusing on that rather than the industry is not productive.
Because fish don’t have fluffy fur like Bambi.
Caring about the welfare of animals is inherently illogical. We do it cause we empathize and personify the animals. If fishes were cute and cuddly or were more obviously affected by fishing (such as in behavior or taste), then there would be a lot more people against it.
Personally I don’t like fishing for exact the reason you described, but I also don’t see any reason to get others to stop too
I used to like to fish but I filleted some catfish one day, cooked and ate them, then went outside to deal with the carcasses, and they were still moving. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen that, but it was the last. I felt so bad
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I am an avid fisherman and share your belief. When I fish, the intent is to harvest some fish to bring home and cook. I don’t understand the mentality of the catch-and-release sports fisherman.
You’re really overestimating the focus on animal welfare.
Because its fun, relaxing, and a great way to get out in nature, and as you mention, it’s something that parents and their kids can bond over. Kids love to fish. Have you seen how excited they get when they catch something? Reddit absolutely hates fishing as something akin to serial torture, but to people who actually go outside, it’s perfectly normal. And if done ethically, it really doesn’t hurt the fish. As long as you release the fish in a reasonable time frame and don’t mess with the gills, they survive just fine. If anyone should have a problem with ethical fish treatment, it should be with the tournament scene. Big tournaments do absolutely cause a lot of death of the fish while hauling them around to weigh in. I don’t have a problem with anyone questioning the morality of things like the Bassmaster, but your average weekend angler isn’t some deranged sadist like people on this site think.
because, what do fish have that they need to be on time for anyway?
Because thankfully some people are still allowed to live life and enjoy it
If everyone who fished ate all their catch, there would be no fish left. Even those fishing for food will throw fish back that are not the proper size or not legal to catch at that time of year. This keeps populations healthy.
Catch-and-release is a conservation tactic to ensure that we don’t overfish. People who take/eat everything they catch are called poachers; they are causing the overfishing issue in a lot of parts of the world.
Like it or not, hunting and gathering are human instincts. Most people who hunt or fish have great bonding experiences and feel the calming effects of being out in nature. They are more aware of their surroundings than people usually are these days. It is practically a form meditation.
Why we value fish less than other animals is a great question. Maybe ask a pescatarian? Is r/pescatarian a thing?
plenty of fish in the sea
The act of hunting/fishing in itself can be enjoyable and engaging to people even though they may not require extra food to put on the table.
Also fish can heal and recover from being caught as long as they are not handled improperly.
Hmm, you ask a good question. I know what I’m doing today
Fish love to eat and hunt each other too, and would do it recreationally if they could. They’re not as peaceful as deer. Maybe there’s less sympathy for them because they themselves are such remorseless predators. Part of the process is in fact them eating the bait. In doing that, they committed the same sin the fisherman is committing. Letting them go is displaying mercy the fish isn’t capable of and also not unnecessarily lowering the fish population of a specific lake. Also, sometimes there are limits to how many fish and fisherman is legally allowed to take, but he still wants to practice the skill of fishing.
Because they don’t have any soft fur or cute mammalian eyes and they don’t have a heart-rending crying sound like mammals do.
Disclaimer: Not taking sides here just as OP, just here to write my experience.
I don’t think we’re in the age of focus on animal welfare.
I think we’re in the age of: “The west focusing on animal welfare in their own way”.
I am from Egypt, I have friends living in Russia, all over Europe (I myself live in Germany), arab friends, and chinese colleagues.
I specifically mentioned those nationalities and countries because I think they will represent the majority of the world (excluding India, as to be totally frank I don’t know that many people from there).
In all of those countries, the idea of animals having rights, and one of those being to NOT get eaten by you is just absolutely non-existent.
It is the way of life, people have always done it and they will always do it (that is the way they see this topic).
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Disgusting bonus:
If you really wanna see how people in 3rd world countries (at least the ones I mentioned, though Russia and China aren’t one of those), check “Eid celebrations” in Egypt, and how sheep and lambs are treated in those “holy” 2-3 days.
TLDR; The west != the world.