RSPCA could check anglers

When taking on this job as angling columnist I vowed never to get embroiled into the politics of our sport unless absolutely necessary, and this shall always be the case.

The following information has been forwarded to me that anglers may face RSPCA checks in the future for any mis-conduct regarding the treatment of fish.

Fish farms and anglers may face checks by inspectors from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) amid new scientific claims that fish can feel pain.

The organisation has confirmed it will now investigate complaints alleging cruelty and is prepared to prosecute whenever appropriate.

Animal welfare campaigners have long argued fish have sufficient consciousness to feel pain, but anglers say their brains are too small and primitive to produce such self-awareness.

The latest study, published in an academic journal, comes down on the side of those who say fish are sentient and capable of suffering.

Dr Victoria Braithwaite, of Edinburgh University’s school of biological sciences, studied the type of pain receptors in fish and concluded that they were very similar to those of higher animals, including mammals.

She and her co-author, Professor Felicity Huntingford of Glasgow University’s institute of biomedical and life sciences, also studied how fish reacted to unpleasant stimuli like injecting bee venom and citric acid into their brains.

Their findings were that their responses were no different from more advanced creatures.

They said: “Fish are unlikely to perceive pain in the same way that humans do, but the currently available evidence indicates that fish do have the capacity for pain perception and suffering.”
“We suggest there is an urgent need for the development of fish welfare guidelines.”

In the past five years, the RSPCA has investigated 23 complaints of cruelty to fish and taken three other cases to court, but all involved pets or pet shops. It has never investigated cruelty on fish farms or in angling.

Nevertheless, all anglers have to remain vigilant and aware that we are under on-going scrutiny, not just from the likes of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) or other animal welfare groups.

This is something I'm trying to drill-in to everyone who may not be as responsible as other anglers in Worksop - I still see mis-treatment of fish on my travels.

The RSPCA is a wonderful worthwhile cause and would be a disaster if it decided to work in conjunction with those who are trying to disrupt our sport.

If you require a list of do's and don'ts when approached by a representative of the RSPCA during fishing, please feel free to contact me.

But providing you are not doing anything wrong then such an approach from the RSPCA should be averted.

It was also brought to my attention a list on one of the hunt saboteurs’ websites concerning ways of disrupting our sport, which makes even more interesting reading.

I shall hopefully include it in one of my weekly columns in the near future.

Angling Course

Ken Stevenson's new angling course is starting upstairs at the Miners’ Welfare, Gateford Road, Worksop, on Wednesday 24th March from 7-9pm.
Another opportunity for you to gain valuable skills at this popular course, which I can fully recommend.
Lets hope all the talc is cleaned up from the regular Northern Soul events held there.

Fly Fishing

I have received a few enquiries from anglers wanting information on flyfishing tactics and how to get started, including one chap who has not caught a trout in two years! Incredible!
As the new reservoir flyfishing season is upon us I will be giving a few tips for that first outing next week to get the ‘fluff chuckers’ among you off to a good start and techniques that will be of help to the flyfishing virgin.

Go-Baits Open

Stuart Goulding of Go-Bait angling will be hosting a series of Open matches at Langold Lake every Sunday. (Match report below).
Entry fee is £15 all-in with the draw at 9am and fish 10am till 4pm. Telephone 01909 540105 for further information.

Chesterfield Canal Trust

The Norwood Packet canal cruise will be running over the Easter holidays starting on Friday 9th to Monday 12th April.
Beginning and ending at the Chequers Inn, Ranby, cruises start at 11am and 2.30pm with a duration of two-and-a-half to three hours.
Fares are priced at £5 for adults and £3.50 for children. Contact Ken Clark on 01909 472791 for more information.

Round up

In the Go-Baits Angling Open, Worksop ace Ian Turner did an excellent job in organising this competition where 19 anglers ascended on Langold Lake for the first in a series of weekly open matches.
Weather conditions were quite indifferent with strong, near gale force, westerly winds blowing down the whole of the lake with torrential rain to liven things up for the anglers.
It was good to see the numbers of fin perfect specimen Bream making a welcome appearance in most of the weights.
The Northern bank which provided some escape from the wind, where an island acted as a shield for some of the leading competitors, is where the winning bags came from.
Main tactics were feeder fished worm or maggot and many of the anglers caught their fish in the last hour, some, in the final 10 minutes of the match.
This clearly shows you have to plug away for the whole duration, something to keep in mind for the next open match here on Sunday.
R. Marsh (Peg 13) took the honours by a single ounce in a close battle with second place producing a mixed bag of big Bream and a Tench, fishing worm on the feeder for 13lbs 5ozs.
Second was P. Hadley (Peg 8) with 13lbs 4ozs, third J. Temprill (Peg 2) 11lbs 12ozs, fourth T. Turner (Peg 41) 9lbs 3ozs, fifth D. Rampling (Peg 47) 7lbs 5ozs, sixth S. Foy (Peg 37) 4lbs 15ozs, seventh T. Fong (Peg 9) 3lbs 12oz.

If you want to get in contact with Martin to give him any results, stories or information, you can e-mail him at martintrona@aol.com

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