OldDog/NewTricks
Well-known member
[PETA have referred to NOAA-NMFS' "Code of Angling Ethics" that is
accessible at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ocs/ethics.html. Information on
PETA's "Fish Empathy Project" is available at http://fishinghurts.com.
ADS-Mod.]
_______________________
PETA URGES GENTLER DEATH FOR FISH
Source: http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=7733
Group Calls On Natural Resources Acting Director to Require Compliance
With Government-Supported Guidelines
For Immediate Release: January 24, 2006
Contact: Karin Robertson 757-622-7382
Springfield, Ill. - As part of its campaign to reduce the suffering that
fish endure at the end of a hook, PETA is calling on Sam Flood, acting
director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, to require
everyone who applies for a fishing license to adhere to the "Code of
Angling Ethics" established by the pro-fishing National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS). NMFS' Code of Angling Ethics lists easy-to-adopt
guidelines to reduce the suffering of fish and protect their
environment. Anglers are currently encouraged, but not required, to
follow the code, which PETA believes must be mandatory for people who
insist on catching and killing fish.
PETA points out that scientific research has proved what marine
biologists have been saying for years-fish are intelligent individuals
who feel pain, just as dogs, cats, and humans do. A recent issue of Fish
and Fisheries magazine cited more than 500 research papers that focus on
fish intelligence, proving that fish are smart, they can use tools, and
they have impressive long-term memories and sophisticated social
structures. According to University of Edinburgh scientist Dr. Culum
Brown, in some respects, fish's cognitive abilities surpass those of
nonhuman primates.
"Just like dogs and cats, fish feel pain, so if you wouldn't hook dogs
through the mouth and drag them behind your car, you shouldn't hook fish
through the mouth and drag them behind your boat," says PETA's Fish
Empathy Project Manager Karin Robertson. "Because the fishing community
now recognizes that fish feel pain and has guidelines that would lessen
their suffering, the least that the state can do is require adherence to
them."
For more information, please visit PETA's Web site FishingHurts.com.
*****************
PETA's letter to Illinois Department of Natural Resources Acting
Director Sam Flood and a copy of NMFS' Code of Angling Ethics follow.
January 24, 2006
Sam Flood, Acting Director
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Dear Mr. Flood:
As you may know, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), a
division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
has created fishing guidelines that it calls the "Code of Angling
Ethics." NMFS explains that "[t]he code, developed in cooperation with a
wide range of constituent groups, was approved on February 11, 1999, and
published in the Federal Register on February 18, 1999." The code
includes provisions such as respecting fish and other animals,
"carefully handling" caught fish, and using "tackle and techniques which
minimize harm to fish."
On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and our more
than 850,000 members and supporters as well as all compassionate
Americans, I am writing to ask that you require adherence to these
guidelines before approving fishing-license applications in Illinois and
that you ensure that all those who fish in your jurisdiction know that
they are legally required to adhere to the guidelines. We are opposed to
impaling fish and dragging them behind a boat for the same reasons that
we're opposed to impaling dogs and dragging them behind a car. We hope
that your agency shares our belief, which is also the belief of fishing
organizations such as the Federation of Fly Fishers, that the Code of
Angling Ethics is the bare minimum that should be expected from those
who fish in Illinois.
Please allow me to outline why requiring, rather than simply suggesting,
adherence to the code is critical: Biologically and physiologically,
fish feel pain in the same way and to the same degree that mammals and
birds do. And although fish may not be as familiar to most of us as
dogs, scientific studies prove that fish are just as intelligent.
The following support these facts:
* A University of Edinburgh study found that fish can learn to escape
from a net and retain the ability 11 months later. The scientists said
that, for a human being, this would be the equivalent of remembering a
lesson learned 40 years earlier.
* Scientific research cited in a recent edition of Fish and Fisheries
magazine shows that fish learn by watching other fish, recognize and
remember one another, and exhibit social behavior comparable to that of
primates.
* Oxford University research has determined that fish can complete some
mental tasks that are too complex for dogs.
* Culum Brown, Ph.D., says, "In many areas, such as memory, [fish's]
cognitive powers match or exceed those of 'higher' vertebrates,
including non-human primates."
In light of the scientific evidence demonstrating the cognitive
abilities of fish and given the undeniable fact that fish feel pain in
the same way and to the same degree that mammals and birds do, it is
only a matter of time before society views cruelty to fish with the same
revulsion that we feel about cruelty to dogs or cats.
Fortunately, there is a growing understanding, even among anglers
themselves, that fish feel pain and hurt when they're wounded and that
anglers should take this into account. NMFS' Code of Angling Ethics
lists easy-to-adopt guidelines that will at least alleviate some of the
worst forms of cruelty inflicted by anglers.
I am sending some additional information about fish intelligence and a
copy of NMFS' Code of Angling Ethics. Please contact me at 757-622-7382.
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Karin Robertson, Manager
Fish Empathy Project
Code of Angling Ethics
The Ethical Angler:
* Promotes, through education and practice, ethical behavior in the use
of aquatic resources.
* Values and respects the aquatic environment and all living things in
it.
* Avoids spilling, and never dumps, any pollutants, such as gasoline and
oil, into the aquatic environment.
* Disposes of all trash, including worn-out lines, leaders, and hooks,
in appropriate containers, and helps to keep fishing sites litter-free.
* Takes all precautionary measures necessary to prevent the spread of
exotic plants and animals, including live baitfish, into non-native
habitats.
* Learns and obeys angling and boating regulations, and treats other
anglers, boaters, and property owners with courtesy and respect.
* Respects property rights, and never trespasses on private lands or
waters.
* Keeps no more fish than needed for consumption, and never wastefully
discards fish that are retained.
* Practices conservation by carefully handling and releasing alive all
fish that are unwanted or prohibited by regulation, as well as other
animals that may become hooked or entangled accidentally.
* Uses tackle and techniques which minimize harm to fish when engaging
in "catch and release" angling.
accessible at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ocs/ethics.html. Information on
PETA's "Fish Empathy Project" is available at http://fishinghurts.com.
ADS-Mod.]
_______________________
PETA URGES GENTLER DEATH FOR FISH
Source: http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=7733
Group Calls On Natural Resources Acting Director to Require Compliance
With Government-Supported Guidelines
For Immediate Release: January 24, 2006
Contact: Karin Robertson 757-622-7382
Springfield, Ill. - As part of its campaign to reduce the suffering that
fish endure at the end of a hook, PETA is calling on Sam Flood, acting
director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, to require
everyone who applies for a fishing license to adhere to the "Code of
Angling Ethics" established by the pro-fishing National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS). NMFS' Code of Angling Ethics lists easy-to-adopt
guidelines to reduce the suffering of fish and protect their
environment. Anglers are currently encouraged, but not required, to
follow the code, which PETA believes must be mandatory for people who
insist on catching and killing fish.
PETA points out that scientific research has proved what marine
biologists have been saying for years-fish are intelligent individuals
who feel pain, just as dogs, cats, and humans do. A recent issue of Fish
and Fisheries magazine cited more than 500 research papers that focus on
fish intelligence, proving that fish are smart, they can use tools, and
they have impressive long-term memories and sophisticated social
structures. According to University of Edinburgh scientist Dr. Culum
Brown, in some respects, fish's cognitive abilities surpass those of
nonhuman primates.
"Just like dogs and cats, fish feel pain, so if you wouldn't hook dogs
through the mouth and drag them behind your car, you shouldn't hook fish
through the mouth and drag them behind your boat," says PETA's Fish
Empathy Project Manager Karin Robertson. "Because the fishing community
now recognizes that fish feel pain and has guidelines that would lessen
their suffering, the least that the state can do is require adherence to
them."
For more information, please visit PETA's Web site FishingHurts.com.
*****************
PETA's letter to Illinois Department of Natural Resources Acting
Director Sam Flood and a copy of NMFS' Code of Angling Ethics follow.
January 24, 2006
Sam Flood, Acting Director
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Dear Mr. Flood:
As you may know, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), a
division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
has created fishing guidelines that it calls the "Code of Angling
Ethics." NMFS explains that "[t]he code, developed in cooperation with a
wide range of constituent groups, was approved on February 11, 1999, and
published in the Federal Register on February 18, 1999." The code
includes provisions such as respecting fish and other animals,
"carefully handling" caught fish, and using "tackle and techniques which
minimize harm to fish."
On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and our more
than 850,000 members and supporters as well as all compassionate
Americans, I am writing to ask that you require adherence to these
guidelines before approving fishing-license applications in Illinois and
that you ensure that all those who fish in your jurisdiction know that
they are legally required to adhere to the guidelines. We are opposed to
impaling fish and dragging them behind a boat for the same reasons that
we're opposed to impaling dogs and dragging them behind a car. We hope
that your agency shares our belief, which is also the belief of fishing
organizations such as the Federation of Fly Fishers, that the Code of
Angling Ethics is the bare minimum that should be expected from those
who fish in Illinois.
Please allow me to outline why requiring, rather than simply suggesting,
adherence to the code is critical: Biologically and physiologically,
fish feel pain in the same way and to the same degree that mammals and
birds do. And although fish may not be as familiar to most of us as
dogs, scientific studies prove that fish are just as intelligent.
The following support these facts:
* A University of Edinburgh study found that fish can learn to escape
from a net and retain the ability 11 months later. The scientists said
that, for a human being, this would be the equivalent of remembering a
lesson learned 40 years earlier.
* Scientific research cited in a recent edition of Fish and Fisheries
magazine shows that fish learn by watching other fish, recognize and
remember one another, and exhibit social behavior comparable to that of
primates.
* Oxford University research has determined that fish can complete some
mental tasks that are too complex for dogs.
* Culum Brown, Ph.D., says, "In many areas, such as memory, [fish's]
cognitive powers match or exceed those of 'higher' vertebrates,
including non-human primates."
In light of the scientific evidence demonstrating the cognitive
abilities of fish and given the undeniable fact that fish feel pain in
the same way and to the same degree that mammals and birds do, it is
only a matter of time before society views cruelty to fish with the same
revulsion that we feel about cruelty to dogs or cats.
Fortunately, there is a growing understanding, even among anglers
themselves, that fish feel pain and hurt when they're wounded and that
anglers should take this into account. NMFS' Code of Angling Ethics
lists easy-to-adopt guidelines that will at least alleviate some of the
worst forms of cruelty inflicted by anglers.
I am sending some additional information about fish intelligence and a
copy of NMFS' Code of Angling Ethics. Please contact me at 757-622-7382.
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Karin Robertson, Manager
Fish Empathy Project
Code of Angling Ethics
The Ethical Angler:
* Promotes, through education and practice, ethical behavior in the use
of aquatic resources.
* Values and respects the aquatic environment and all living things in
it.
* Avoids spilling, and never dumps, any pollutants, such as gasoline and
oil, into the aquatic environment.
* Disposes of all trash, including worn-out lines, leaders, and hooks,
in appropriate containers, and helps to keep fishing sites litter-free.
* Takes all precautionary measures necessary to prevent the spread of
exotic plants and animals, including live baitfish, into non-native
habitats.
* Learns and obeys angling and boating regulations, and treats other
anglers, boaters, and property owners with courtesy and respect.
* Respects property rights, and never trespasses on private lands or
waters.
* Keeps no more fish than needed for consumption, and never wastefully
discards fish that are retained.
* Practices conservation by carefully handling and releasing alive all
fish that are unwanted or prohibited by regulation, as well as other
animals that may become hooked or entangled accidentally.
* Uses tackle and techniques which minimize harm to fish when engaging
in "catch and release" angling.
