I know that not everyone approves of angling and some may consider it a cruel pastime.
Of cours
e, I do not agree with those sentiments myself even though I admit that there is a tiny bit of cruelty involved in the sport. After all a fish does not enjoy being caught.
To balance this we anglers who catch and eat trout actually avoid a lot of cruelty.
We try to stop river pollution which really is cruel to fish and the more responsible among us pay money to the anti-pollution bodies such as the ACA.
When we land a trout which we or our friends and families or neighbours want to eat we instantly kill it humanely with a blow to the back of the head from a special priest that we carry.
Compare this with the distressing death of a cod or haddock which gasps its life away on the deck or hold of a trawler.
And were it not for the fact that we like to catch and eat trout these fish would not be given a life in the first place for trout breeding is an expensive process but a necessary one because it helps to preserve our remaining valuable wild trout stocks.
Of course, I understand that some people hate the idea of killing any creature so they are vegetarian in their eating habits.
They are of course entitled to their beliefs but I would ask them to consider how many vegetables would be left in this country if nobody killed rabbits.
The anglers and the so called 'antis' will never agree on these matters but at least let us view the subject from a rational informed viewpoint.
Though angling is so very essential to my enjoyment of life I am of course biased in my judgment but I promise readers that if I really thought that I am being unduly cruel in my sport then I would not do it.
My final argument is a telling one. If we stopped trout fishing then poachers would kill the fish unhindered.
We spend a lot of money paying keepers but still we do not stop all the poachers, and compared to what genuine anglers do poaching and the way poachers behave certainly is cruel.
You can do lots of things in a cruel way. For instance you can keep a dog in a cruel way letting it roam instead of taking it for walks under control, but lots of people give a dog an enjoyable life.
So it is with fishing; you should regulate the sport to avoid unnecessary cruelty.
John Neville
