Maybe I'm Just A Little Behind But What Is This?

[Stockton Lake Guide Service]

On a guide trip this past monday and was told that peta was trying to change the name of fish because they didn't get enough respect. I figured it was a joke, but it's on their website. So guess for no2 on instead of going fishing, we all go trying to catch a few "sea kittens"

I knew they were all a little wacko, but calling a fish a sea kitten is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.

Never seen them protesting outside a bait store trying to protect the lonely night crawler, but looks like it's coming.

Good luck sea kittening this week. They are biting and the sea kittens with the teeth (used to be called walleye) have been biting better the past week...

Frequently Asked Questions

Isn’t eating fish good for your health?

Fish absorb all the contamination from the water they live in, so fish flesh is laced with toxins such as mercury, lead, arsenic, PCBs, pesticides, and even industrial strength fire-retardant. Just two servings of fish per week can elevate your blood mercury levels by 700 percent, and study after study has linked fish consumption to fatigue, memory loss, and decreased mental function. Click here for the facts about fish flesh and your health.

So what does the fish industry have to say for itself? It ignores the fact that fish flesh is toxic (the breast milk of some Inuit tribes is so concentrated with poisons from their fish diet that it meets the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for toxic waste) and points to small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in fish. But you can get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids in nuts and leafy green vegetables … without losing your mind.

What’s wrong with catch-and-release fishing?

Have you ever seen an injured dog who has been hit by a car or a cat who’s been seriously hurt in a fight? Unless they are treated by a veterinarian, these animals are likely to die from their injuries. Fish are no different: A hook through the mouth causes a serious and extremely painful injury that is often fatal without treatment. But anglers just toss injured fish back into the water—often without realizing what they’ve done.

In addition to the wounds that are caused by the hook, fish released after being caught can suffer from loss of their protective scale coating, dangerous build-up of lactic acid in their muscles, oxygen depletion, and damage to their delicate fins and mouths. Upon being returned to the water, these fish are easy targets for predators and other fishers. Researchers at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation found that as many as 43 percent of fish released after being caught died within six days. Catching fish is cruel and unnecessary, whether they are killed on the spot or thrown back into the water, injured and exhausted.

Didn’t Jesus eat fish?

It’s an interesting question, but Biblical scholars agree that the appropriate question for Christians is, “What should we be eating?” The Bible clearly says that our bodies are temples and that we should take care of them. Yet it’s a fact that all fish flesh today is contaminated with heavy metals and other toxins. In fact, fish flesh is just about the most polluted thing that humans put into their bodies. On that basis alone, Christians should not be eating it.

Today’s fishing practices are also horribly cruel to God’s creatures. God cares for all His creatures, and the Bible counsels compassion for all beings. We all understand that it is immoral and contrary to Christian mercy to torture dogs and cats. It is equally unchristian to torture and kill (or pay others to torture and kill) fish and other animals. Although they may not be able to scream out in pain, fish have the same capacity for suffering and the same right to compassion as all living beings.

For more frequently asked questions about vegetarianism, click here.

For more frequently asked questions about other issues, click here.

Ask Carla, PETA’s kindness consultant.

[Flysmallie]

What a bunch of retards. Peta is full of whackos!!

[rcguy]

OMG!

[Quillback]

Look at the bright side, none of those knuckleheads will be out on the lake catching our fish, leaving more for us!

[straw hat]

Bob you sure hit a nerve with me. I will try and refrain from a long oration. I have had to deal with those idiots just a few times. Enough said.

As far as the Inuits, being a native indian tribe they are exempt from the federally required limits on the fish they can consume. This causes the build-up in their blood which has been successfully treated with chelation therapy. It also ignores the fact that most of the contaminated Inuits are from the older generation and that due to the EPA most of the fish are now low on contaminates and the younger Inuits are fine.

What JERKS!!! Not too many things anger me but these idiots do. Sorry about the ranting Bob.

[Thunderin Gobbler]

I think I gotta agree with you guys here!!!!!!!! Duh! PETA is one of the most non-fact based organizations I know. Like Straw Hat, I have had my share of run-ins with them. I unfortunately work with a few of them!

If a fish is going to die after being properly hooked, then why is it that almost every time I go out I catch one that already has a hole in its lip from a hook( especially crappie). I don't agree with the Oklahoma research about the percentage of fish dieing either. I know we talked about it on here a few weeks ago, but our stockton fish are not near that bad off.

Being a hunter, and especially a NWTF representative I hear all kinds of BS from these people. They never have any facts to back themselves, but when sportsmen present the facts. they don't believe them.

Sure am glad they won't be out fishing (sea kittening) any time soon.

Jason

[stlfisher]

Is PETA actually trying to make a religious argument. I hope PETA realizes there is a passage in the bible that can be best summarized as "if you don't eat them (fish) you should let them go". Sounds a lot like C/R and fishing to me.

What a joke! I would like to lip one of them with a crankbait.

[Gilly]

I've got a buddy who spends time helping to guard his friends farm. Apparently he raises mink or some fur bearing animal. They've been attacked by PETA several times. Now I'm not into fur coats but on principles alone I'd defend the place if it was mine. The ferocity with which the PETA idiots attack makes you realize just how self-rightous the fools are. They usually trash the place.

[Trevor K]

I'd be interested in seeing a little more about this "study" that they are siting here.

[Trout Commander]

They probably took a single line from a large report and gave it the proportion of a large report. i.e. a report stressing c & r with barbless hooks for fish X that stated 43% of all gill hooked fish are found dead or something of the sort.