Letter: Angling isn’t harmless because fish feel pain

Monday, March 16, 1998 | 10:17 a.m.

There's no doubt that fish feel pain. According to Dr. Donald Broom, animal welfare adviser to the British government, "The scientific literature is quite clear. Anatomically, physiologically and biologically, the pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals. In animal welfare terms, you have to put fishing into the same category as hunting."

And, of course, current tackle is far from friendly -- to animals or the environment. Every year, anglers leave behind a trail of tackle victims that includes millions of birds, turtles and other animals who suffer debilitating injuries after swallowing fish hooks or becoming entangled in fishing line.

Even the most conscientious and careful anglers must share the blame, because every sport fisher eventually loses tackle -- fishing line easily snaps when it becomes tangled in tree branches during casting or when hooks get snagged on rocks in the water. And even the smallest amount of lost line can add up to a huge problem: One United Kingdom study found that in just two weeks, anglers discarded or lost 36,000 pieces of line -- totaling six kilometers -- around a two-kilometer stretch of embankment.

Angling is not a harmless pastime. That's why PETA encourages anglers to pitch their poles and get hooked on activities that don't hurt animals.

Paula Moore People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Norfolk, Va.