Something Fishy

Reid hooked this op-ed piece (LATimes) by Victoria Braithwaite, a behavioral biologist at Edinburgh University, and sent it to Steve, Rebecca and myself for comment. I threw back the following flippant reply, which Steve suggested I share with the rest of the class.

Maybe everyone can chime in with their views in Comments?

...I've seen that report written up but not yet heard directly from its author. I find it unsurprising. It's annoying from the standpoint of assuming (as the researcher seems to) that anglers ALL believe fish do not feel pain and that this alone justifies our "dragging millions of them ashore with little enough conscience."

As a hunter, I see it as totally beside the point. I assume all animals feel pain; my efforts to hunt them are actually informed by this assumption. As I love to say, though I know it's trite: I'm out there to kill animals, not hurt them!

To expect us all (every person, not just every hunter or angler) to cease and desist any behavior that might cause another animal pain is tantamount to suggesting
mass suicide. None of us lives without consequence, right Steve?

I think scientific exploration of pain is extremely valuable and SHOULD give us pause. I am not a sport-fisher or a catch-and-release falconer in large part because I feel certain it's wrong to hurt animals for no better reason than my sport. But killing animals, especially to eat them and always by the swiftest possible means, that's a necessary part of being alive (a status I will not conveniently disallow myself, no matter how many fish doctors suggest it's the right thing to do).