Posted on 02/07/2005 12:28:46 PM PST by franksolich
OSLO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Worms squirming on a fishhook feel no pain -- nor do lobsters and crabs cooked in boiling water, a scientific study funded by the Norwegian government has found.
"The common earthworm has a very simple nervous system -- it can be cut in two and continue with its business," Professor Wenche Farstad, who chaired the panel that drew up the report, said on Monday.
Norway might have considered banning the use of live worms as fish bait if the study had found they felt pain, but Farstad said "It seems to be only reflex curling when put on the hook ... They might sense something, but it is not painful and does not compromise their well-being."
The government called for the study on pain, discomfort and stress in invertebrates to help in the planned revision of Norway's animal protection law.
Invertebrates cover a range of creatures from insects and spiders to mollusks and crustaceans. Farstad said most invertebrates, including lobsters and crabs boiled alive, do not feel pain because, unlike mammals, they do not have a big brain to read the signals.
Some more advanced kinds of insects, such as honeybees which display social behaviour and a capacity to learn and cooperate, deserve special care, she said.
"We have particular responsibility for animals that we have in our custody. That is not a scientific opinion, but the ethical side of the issue," Farstad said.
I read the CIA report on our allies in the War against Terror, but really, it did not say anything not already available in most almanacs and encyclopediae.
I'm confused about all this. Do worms vote in Norway?
"Ping" for the Norway ping list; I got this in a little early today, because it is my day off, and for whatever reasons, I am tired of winter here in Nebraska, the Norway of America.
Hey, I was even surprised to learn that Norway even has worms; I thought it was too cold, or too icy up there, for them.
I'm quite certain this is junk science. Every time I try to put a worm on a hook, he immediately begins to squirm in an effort to avoid the barb. There's no doubt in my mind that they feel pain.
My guess is that these Norwegian "scientists" were paid by the fishing industry to conduct the study.
Them Norwegians.. relevant as always.... /snide.
Well, I don't think the fishing industry in Norway fishes with worms; they probably use big nets and that sort of stuff.
To me, and I could be right, or wrong, it seems that probably some Greenie or Pest, er, PETA, up there squawked and moaned and carried on about little Norwegian lads taking a fishing-pole and going out to the nearest fjord to angle.
But then upon impartial review of the evidence, the eminently-reasonable Norwegian scientists studying the matter decided, no, the little kids weren't being cruel to animals.
It's not the squirming that bothers me. It is the screaming...
Would they have banned fishing if they found that the worms sufferred? They are obviously just trying to justify the status quo by conducting this study.
Not only is it PETA-ish nonsense, but it's a big waste of taxpayer money.
Of course, I'm sure glad that we don't spend taxpayer money on boondoggles like this in the US.
I wonder if they notice they're drowning? Norway needs to study that right away.
Impressive collection of quotes on the profile page, sir; real words of wisdom by which to live, and I agree with the sentiments 100%.
As for Norway, the purpose of the "Norway ping list" is to publicize our gallant allies in the War against Terror, in both Afghanistan and Iraq--of the western European nations, only the British have devoted more, while much of Old Europe, more wealthier, more populous, than Norway, the Nebraska of Europe, have done.....zilch.
Norway deserves some publicity, sir.
While the barbarians at the gate continuie to be appeased and mollified...
No wonder why the West is so soft.
"Farstad said most invertebrates, including lobsters and crabs boiled alive, do not feel pain because, unlike mammals, they do not have a big brain to read the signals."
Dems in America today "do not have a big brain to read the signals."
Worms--yuck! Reminds me of that one scene in "Dracula" starring Gary Olman and Wynonna Ryder where Mr. Renfeld is in an insane asylum catching and eating flies, larva, worms, etc. He picks up this one fat worm and eats it. He then proceeds to tell the director of the asylum (played by Richard E. Grant) the nutritional value of the worm.
I do believe that we should not inflict unnecessary pain on creatures, especially for enjoyment. But if these critters don't feel pain, then they're fair game for the slaughter.
I bet worms have more brains than the species democratus, sir; have you ever been to the democraticunderground?
Was this a story about the DNC?
When I glanced at it earlier, seeing only "worms" and "suffer," before going on to something else, I thought perhaps it might pertain to Democrats, sir--but then later when I went back, I read it more fully.
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