PETA and your fishing license

[Rat]

Todays on-line edition of the Chicago Sun-Times has an article about PETA'S concern for how we treat our fish. In a letter to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, they say if we must kill fish, to do it with "kindness." They also think the state of Illinois should require fishermen to follow what they call a "Code of Angling Ethics" before being issued a license.
A spokesman for the Illinois DNR confirmed they got the letter and are currently "reviewing" it.
Good grief........................
If you go to Google and type in Chicagosuntimes.com and click on "News" in the top toolbar you can read the entire article. It's the eighth article down from the top.
Rat

[cook]

Thanks,but thats too much effort to read something by PETA!!:crying:

[the_nis]

I just read the article and I have to say its completely ridiculous! Now don't get me wrong, I'm a complete animal lover but PETA goes overboard with this stuff. If you kill a fish, do it with kindness...GIVE ME A BREAK!!! A code of angling ethics?! This is a bit much, don't you think?!

[Rainman4u2]

Define "Killing with kindness". Does this mean we have to have a portable gas chamber with us to kill them, or lethal injection setups in our vehivles???? I'm sorry, but severing the spinal cord is just as painless, and in my opinion just as ethical.

Ray

[TDawgNOk]

Actually, a code of angling ethics might be a WISE IDEA. Now hear me out before ya get all mad. If WE, the FISHERMEN were to write a "code of angling ethics" including proper ways of CPRing fish, and cleaning up after yourself, not blockin the ramps and so on, it could be a good thing.

Imagine
We the Catfishermen of the Brotherhood of Catfishing, in order to create a safer environment, protect spiecies of fish, ensure fishing saftey, and secure the fishing passtime for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Code of Angling Ethics for the ________ Department of Natural Resources.

(Insert state of your choice in the blank)

[Jamey]

For a general idea of just how truly wacko these PETA nuts are, see the following:

http://www.fishinghurts.com/pdfs/DaddyKillsAnimals.pdf

"Until your daddy learns it's not fun to kill, keep your doggies and kitties away from him. He's so hooked on killing defenseless animals that they could be next!"

I'm sorry, but this sh*t really makes my blood boil. After seeing such blatantly false propaganda, I fail to see how any government agency could take this group seriously.

Don't even get me started on those PETA *@!&#%^'s!!!
:cursing:

[metalman]

Tony,
I am right with you. A code of angling ethics is not only a good idea but probably a must in light of the pathetic way some people that fish (I won't call them anglers) let us down as a whole.
Some of the places I fish are a disgrace. Garbage and crap everywhere and evidence that those that left it have no regard for their quary. I'm not saying that we should say a prayer before we throw a fish in the cooler but what is wrong with a swift whack on the head or a knife to the spine.
I see fish dragged up the bank and over rocks and then left to gasp awey what is left of their life. I have witnessed people fishing with no tools whatsoever to get a hook out and just ripping it out with the leader if it was too far inside the mouth to get hold of. These fish are usually too small to keep but they are killed anyway just from being "unhooked".
These folks give PETA all the ammo they need to come after us. If we were seen to be stewards of the environment insted of abusers and take fish responsibly and humanely instead of in a way that indicates we have no regard for the fish we catch.
It doesn't matter how many of us act responsibly if the only evidence we have been there is trash and dead fish. We are only as good as the biggest jerk in their opinion...W

[fwmud]

i can't speak for all,but, I already practice such things and don't need have it written.
I clean up not only after myself, but the ones who didn't before me. I don't "waste fish I catch. I treat the ones to be returned as easy as possible , and I only use bass as bait.
No offense intended,but, way back when, when man started writing things in order to keep promises,instead of a handshake and your word, thats when man started breaking all the things he 'd written.

[cats4uandme]

im with ya keith. ipractice good ethics IMO. i throw nothing on the bank if i ain't eating it it goes back. i cut hooks that can't be removed easily to rust out. i take it i eat it. i don't need em telling me but do agree that some out there don't deserve to fish. but well never rid the world of bad folks. never. thats the way it is. i don't want p.e.t.a. involved. IMO there radicals and just way out there. well my thoughts. lol. just read my signature at the bottom of this post. i wack em with a hammer and don't need p.e.t.a. telling me different. im not gonna go get a rifle and shoot each fish in the head at two o clock in the morning in my alley.

[Redtick]

I am a hardcore hunter and fisherman. We don't need PETA to tell us how to be sportsmen.

[metalman]

Keith, Jeremy, Dave,
I agree with everything you say but it's not the likes of you and me that give fishing a bad name. The PETA nuts use the behavior of the wost of us to brand us all with.
But we do give them a stick to beat us with. How many times have you seen a professional bass angler on TV drag a fish across the carpeted deck of his boat and some of these so called experts on TV have the fish handling skills of a complete beginner. I saw an episode of Mark Sosin's show the other day. There was a segment on different ways of hooking live fish and right there on TV they hooked the bait about 6 times to demonstrate. That's the stuff the anti-brigade love. The PETA nuts will never be out on the river to see how hard I try to handle my fish properly.
I know this is not the real issue, they don't care how we treat our fish, they want to stop us fishing completely but the examples set by some of these "celebrities" don't do us any favors.
I'll stop rambling...W

[badkarma]

I've been hunting and fishing for way over 45 years and I sure don't need a bunch of crazy people telling me how how not to hurt the poor fish.I think the best thing we could do is open season on peta.

[bondman]

No matter what we do as far as PETA is concerned will never be good enough. Yes we have people that is in the spotlight that everyone see's. face it fishing is big business with all the fishing and outdoor shows on TV. Yes I have also seen the fish tossed on the bank of streams and rivers. I also take only what I am going to use. But what really gets the attention of everyone is the trash on the banks the way people abuse the land. I have yet to see them come out and help when the boy scouts around here, have lake clean up day where is peta down on the docks trying to get people to not hurt the fishes but if they really want to help the fish and game pitch in do something constructive dont stand on the docks yelling.
you want my respect dont tell me what to do show me how you do it. Just as i have done with my children and my father has done with me when we go fishing we take out everything we bring and always seem to take out more. I am not complaining here neither am I preaching. Just my 2 cents worth.
Bondman

[Rat]

I'll tell you what worries me about this. All it takes is one person in a position of power to give in to these people and we'd all be up a creek with no bait, no poles, no license and a empty feeling in our gut. I used to think PETA was a bunch of people with such meaningless lives they had nothing better to do than worry if fish feel pain. But, they are actually starting to make me a little concerned. Think their bad now, wait til they get a victory under their belt, like a "Anglers Code of Ethics" enforced at a state level. Hopefully the DNR will put their suggestion in the circular file, laugh it off and drive on. But in todays world, their isn't much a state agency could do that would surprise me. The biggest thing in our favor is the $$$ the states bring in through the sales of fishing and hunting license. I just hope they don't find a way to get around that part of the formula.
Rat

[Jamey]

I have yet to see them come out and help when the boy scouts around here, have lake clean up day where is peta down on the docks trying to get people to not hurt the fishes but if they really want to help the fish and game pitch in do something constructive dont stand on the docks yelling.


EXACTLY. What really grinds my gears are these whackos screaming about "hurting the little fishies" while they don't contribute a red cent to their conservation and management. I don't know about Illinois, but in Tennessee, the deer and turkey populations are larger now than when Columbus sailed - all due to wildlife management programs. The revenue generated from license sales also supports the study and protection of non-game species.

So go ahead PETA, and outlaw hunting and fishing, discontinue licensing (and therefore, funding for most state DNRs and wildlife agencies). After poaching becomes rampant and wildlife populations plummet, are you going to be there to pick up the tab?

[cats4uandme]

jamey, great point. ive fished all my life and bought lisc for my boat and to fish. if the state of ill makes it illegal to fish ill no longer be a part of the b.o.c. because we don't like poachers. i ain't gonna stop fishing now just cause the state says so.:cool:

[warcraft1975]

i ever tell ya'll how much i hate peta?these people need a life i mean really enough is enough

[Darrell]

I love the organization. My sister is one of them and I enjoy, quite regularly, inviting her over and then turning the grill on. They are all confused people who havent a clue. I informed my sister where geletin came from when she was eating jello. It literally made her vomit. I still laugh about it to this day. She knows I love her to death anyway. One thing about it though...they keep getting skinnier and we keep getting bigger.

MAJ D

[astutzman]

PETA tried the same thing last summer up in Minnesota, you know, the land of a thousand lakes, a.k.a. fishing paradise.... Apparently they asked the governor to put a ban on fishing for walleye. His reply was classic: "PETA should stay out of Minnesota's proud fishing lifestyle, Because of their letter, I'm going out for a walleye dinner tonight."

Could you imagine banning walleye fishing in Minnesota? There'd be a revolt. Kind of like what would happen if they banned catfishing in Illinois.

[cats4uandme]

ya, i don't see them ever in my life time getting any state to ban hunting and fishing. there is a conservational respect and hearatige in it. thats why states like illinois regulate deer harvests. its a vital step in conservation of the heards. over populaton causes starvation and deseise.

oh by the way were cooking up 5#'s of deer burger tonight in my shop over the woodstove and having tacos. did it last tues. had about 5 over. great time.

[SilverCross]

Now that was worth a huge laugh. I guess if it gets to that, we will have Prohibition with fishing. Shucks, bet they are hurting the little plants they eat. Ripping their poor little leaves, stems and roots, oh, ouch!!!

[ersel]

peta rented a billboard down here during the Bass Master tournament. It showed the dog with hook in it mouth.

[Smellycat]

I`m with you redtick. Making laws don`t stop people from doing wrong. We already have plenty of laws and rules. People still rob, steal, and murder even though it`s against the law. There are already laws against littering, catching more fish than the limit and on and on. In the end it`s up to the individual to do right or wrong. To hell with peta!!

[YeeHaw]

What are they thinking? Are we supposed to kill fish by leathal injection? The members of PETA have never been fishing, hunting, or even touched a rod, or gun. They just don't know the fun of the outdoors. I want to make a window sticker that says PETA can kiss my A$$.

[Fry Guy]

I think the line that chapped my A$$ the most was "Until your daddy learns it's not fun to kill, keep your doggies and kitties away from him. He's so hooked on killing defenseless animals that they could be next!" How dare they try and tell my children this B.S.!:sad: They just don't think or care about what they are doing. I'm all about loving animals and treating them with respect but these people (or at least all I have had run ins with) are a bunch of crazies. Sometimes I think they do these things just to try and make our live miserable. Think of all the kids that would be messed up even more than there are today if they hadn't been taken fishing and taught to respect nature. The kids that didn't get that experience are the ones that grow abusing animals. Just what I've observed anyway.

[YeeHaw]

I think that is anyone of use threaten them or beat them senseless, they would prosicute. There just that way in taking advantage of people.