Posted on 05/21/2003 6:42:55 PM PDT by Ethan Clive Osgoode
The Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection (Dyrebeskyttelsen Norge) now believes it is wrong for fishing poles being passed out in schools since research shows that fish feel pain. The organization is also concerned about worms being impaled on fishing hooks, newspaper Dagsavisen reports.
The animal interest group is reacting to Fishing Pole Project 2003, which will donate 40,000 fishing poles to grammar schools, an expansion of a popular project run last year. "The benefit of any doubt about the pain of fish should favor the fish" is the organization's stance.
Steinar Paulsen of the NJFF (Norwegian Hunter and Fisherman Federation) called the project an important way to help children experience aspects of nature that are growing more and more remote.
Dyrebeskyttelsen representative Siri Relling does not buy this argument.
"It is important for children to experience nature, but they can do it without tormenting other species. Students could get binoculars or cameras instead of learning to make fish suffer," Relling said.
Relling also was concerned about the fate of earthworms and their traditional role as bait.
"We can't rule out that worms feel pain. I also doubt that children think it is OK to thread a worm onto a hook," Relling said.
"We don't have a basic stance against fishing but we react to the suffering of animals. When we have research that shows fish feel pain that means we can not support the school (fishing) project. Bullfighting is culture in Spain but it shouldn't be maintained on that ground," Relling told Dagsavisen.
The NJFF did not reject the idea that fish feel pain, but disagreed that it could be so great. The NJFF did reject the comparison with bullfighting.
"There is, after all, a difference between catching a fish with a worm and torturing a bull to death. But it is important to kill the fish properly and that is why it is essential to teach children how to fish and how to kill them," Paulsen said.
The NJFF said they would still be handing out the fishing poles since they disagreed with the Dyrebeskyttelsen stance, and that not giving the poles away now would "be like canceling Christmas".
It is getting hard to tell anymore.
Oh sure, subject those poor fish to human voyeurism. How would he like someone to be staring at him through binoculars all day? It's degrading.
Have bail money tucked away somewhere.
Only if you do it on porpoise.
I'm not as familiar with the scales of justice.
You shouldn't ask unless you really want to know!
Vegetarians: See Tag Line.
Just a suggestion. I'm trying to be helpful.
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