CATCH-and-release fishing is cruelly disguised as “sport”.
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Studies show that fish caught and then returned to the water suffer such severe physiological stress that they often die of shock.
Fish often swallow hooks, and anglers may try to retrieve a hook by shoving their fingers or pliers down a fish’s throat, ripping out not just the hook but some
of the fish’s throat and guts as well.
When fish are handled, the protective coating on their bodies is disturbed.
These and other injuries make fish easy targets for predators once they are returned to the water after being caught for fun.
Fish feel pain because, like all animals, they have nerves.
Hooked fish struggle out of fear and physical pain, and are desperate to breathe. Once fish are hauled out of their aqueous environment and into ours, they begin to suffocate, and their gills often collapse.
Angling hurts other animals, too.
Wildlife rehabilitators say that discarded fishing tackle is one of the greatest threats to aquatic animals.
Fishing as “sport” is far from a harmless pastime.
Coral Anderson
Batehaven