Rood Eye
Saturday 3rd August 2019 12:23pm [Edited]
4,103 posts
As an animal lover and all-round good egg, I applaud the practice of releasing fish immediately after catching them.
Having said that, isn't it a bit like spending an afternoon betting in the bookies and, every time you lose, the bookie keeps your money (as usual) but, every time you win, the bookie hands you your winnings, you look at the cash for a few seconds and then give it him back?
Or, alternatively, you're going out on a date. You shower, brush your teeth, put on your best clothes, aftershave, take your date to a restaurant where you entertain her with sparkling wit and repartee, you pay for the food, you pay for the wine and you drive her home. You go in, have a cup of coffee with her, one thing leads to another and you wind up in bed together. Then, just as you're about to do the deed you say, "You know what? This is enough for me" and the two of you part company.
View the situation how you will but it remains a fact that fish have been an oppressed minority for thousands of years and only recently have some anglers decided to treat them with the respect and kindness they deserve.
I foresee a time when schoolteachers will teach kiddies about the days when fish were not allowed to vote, or own property or become TV commentators, actors or comedians.
Gone Fishing, in promoting kindness to captured fish, is one small step for man, a giant leap for fish-kind.