Hunt protesters target anglers

Dan McMullan

September 09, 2006

| Submit Comments | Comments (38) | Previous | Next

A MILITANT group of anti-hunt protesters has confirmed that it is targeting anglers.

The Hunt Saboteurs Association says it wants to stamp out fishing - Britain's most popular sport - saying it is "abhorrent and cruel".

Last month around 30 masked attackers smashed up equipment and confronted anglers at a fly fishery in Lancashire.

In a letter to the M.E.N, the Hunt Saboteurs Association said it considers anglers as legitimate targets.

The group wrote: "There is no `new campaign' against angling - it remains an abhorrent and cruel activity, and as such will continue to be included within our remit as an organisation against all bloodsports. It's not about `people-hating', it's not about `class hatred' and it's not about 'terrorism'. It's about cruelty - plain and simple.

"If you want to spend an afternoon by the riverbank then by all means do, just take a good book, or maybe a bin bag and gloves so you can clean a bit of our countryside up for others to enjoy.

"Leave the hooking of a fish out of the equation, and we'll gladly leave you alone."

The Hunt Saboteurs Association, formed in 1963, took direct action in protesting against foxhunting with dogs, which was banned in England and Wales last year.

The group's website includes details on how to sabotage angling, and the group points out that the information has been present in its Tactical Handbook for more than 10 years.

However, physical attacks on anglers are extremely rare and police are concerned the incident in Lancashire last month may be the start of a campaign of violence.

Punched

The confrontation between 30 masked campaigners and anglers took place at the Bank House Fly Fishery, near Lancaster on August 12. A spokeswoman for the Hunt Saboteurs Association said she did not know if the attackers were members of the group.

The gang, who were armed with baseball bats and blocks of wood descended on the lake, shouting and smashing fishing rods then damaging cars and starting fights.

Two fishermen were assaulted and a woman was punched in the face.

One woman who was fishing at the lake and had her rod smashed was told to leave or she would be thrown in the water.

A Lancashire police spokesman said: "This is a disturbing new trend, attacking people as they fish. Obviously we are looking at the criminal damage element. Fly rods can cost up to é4,000."

Michael White, of Manchester Angling Club, said: "Most anglers are absolutely committed to the welfare of the fish and many are concerned conservationists who work hard to preserve and enhance the areas where they fish.

"They are mindful of their responsibility not just to the fish but to all wildlife in the areas they use, and work hard to conserve those areas.

"Many angling clubs take the whole area of conservation and protection of wildlife very seriously and I for one probably spend more time working with the environment than fishing.

"Whether or not fishermen throw the fish back or take them home is a personal issue, but I do not know of any anglers who would deliberately hurt or mistreat a fish.

"As for the hunt saboteurs, most fly fishermen are elderly gentlemen enjoying an afternoon out on their own and to attack them as has been suggested is just cowardly."

Is fishing cruel? Have your say.

| Submit Comments | Comments (38) | Previous | Next

Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All

me, stockport (09/09/2006 at 10:39)

get a job

Arkan, M C R (09/09/2006 at 10:54)

"Whether or not fishermen throw the fish back or take them home is a personal issue, but I do not know of any anglers who would deliberately hurt or mistreat a fish"......... and of course, the fish who has its tongue impailed on a hook is merely thrashing around with the joys of life ............... A Blood Sport is a blood sport no matter how you dress it up . The anomaly is that if you did this thing with a hook in its tongue dangling your gold fish over the its bowl at home it would be a criminal act enforced by the RSPCA .... so having recognised the dilema how come the duality of law exists.........scared of losing more votes ?????

Andy, Wales (09/09/2006 at 12:40)

These people are bullys and as for threatening woman and elderley people, just about sums them up.

Ace Riley, manchester (09/09/2006 at 13:17)

I dont agree with fishing but that is my view but i now find myself dissagreeing with the hunt sabs?Ive always been behind the banning of hunting and hurting animals but now they have gone too far.Fishing is a pastime enjoyed by the dissable,the young,women,pensioners Ect i know this dosnt seem to make it right ?but i know that these anglers actually make sure the waters of britain are clean and maintained without these clubs and fishermen the rivers and waters of britain would be badly managed and poluted.But if the hunt sabs want to be respected they need to be a little less arogant .I have seen these fishermen spending weekends cleaning rivers and lakes "how many hunt sabs do you see offering to do these mindless jobs for free??

Steven, Manchester (09/09/2006 at 13:35)

First they went after fox hunting because it was the easiest target; they used the fact that it's perceived as an exclusively upper-class pursuit to generate support for banning it, or at least deter any middle-class urbanites from actively supporting it. Now they've got their own way over fox hunting, these fanatics are going after fishing, popular across the classes and urban/rural divide. Only now they are showing their TRUE colours, turning up mob-handed with masks and baseball bats, instead of trying to construct a rational argument. Pathetic!! These are the same type of people who dug up the remains of someone's grandmother just because they disagreed with the work done at Huntingdon Life Sciences.

richard walton, cumbria (09/09/2006 at 14:19)

Fishing is cruel. It must be. Getting pulled out of the water with a hook in your jaw would hurt a human, so it must hurt a fish. Someone tell me different.

geo jones, macclesfield (09/09/2006 at 14:31)

Just as everyone thought...Hunt Saboteurs..they think everyone with a right to go about a legitamate sport is a target...now they've got rid of fox hunting,its now fishing after fishing it'll be pigeon racing after that dog racing, then they'll stop people keeping rabbits in hutches...isn't it about time the Government hauled these terrorists in along with other terrorists because thats what they are....

Dave Pickup, Spain (09/09/2006 at 15:51)

How thick can you get? What do these people eat,eh?
The annoying thing is the fact that there are so many better things to protest about,
I could list them all but I only have one and a half hours battery left on my lap-top. As a summery though;everything and anything that Labour has done to destroy England(repeat,England) over the past nine years.

Paul Timpson, Manchester (09/09/2006 at 16:36)

How very convenient that the anglers seem to forget about the litter, discarded fishing lines etc etc etc they leave on the river banks, canals or lakesides.

These kill wildlife such as swans and ducks.

Also how bright do you have to be to pit your wits against a brain of a fish?

Fish do feel pain, its not a class issue as some say but a a cruelty issue.

I say ban fishing ASAP.

Steve, Ordsall (09/09/2006 at 17:21)

Arkan, fish do not have tongues and to Paul the roof of a fishes mouth is not the same as a human's. The fish does not feel pain on a hook as there are no nerve endings in their mouths. This is fact. I do not enjoy the sport of fishing but defend the right of people that do. I am not a vegetarian, I eat meat and fish, it is my right to do so. I dont think these people will be happy untill I loose that right. Animal rights (whatever they are) seem to be more important to them than those of a human. Animals kill other animals, and not just for food. Cats kill and prey on birds and leave them to rot, its the law of nature. We are only one more animal that fits into the jigsaw of the planet, all be it at the top of the food chain.

Cath, Manchester (09/09/2006 at 18:09)

I do not fish myself but my partner does. He also returns home every time with all his rubbish which he duly deposits in the wheelie bin. The angling club he belongs to are very clear on this, members who do not risk expulsion. The rod licence he and other anglers buy each year from the Environmental Agency each year provides millions of pounds in revenue that is used to maintain British waterways.

peter jones, Hannover.Germany (09/09/2006 at 19:24)

I am a keen fisherman.I also agree that leaving line and litter on the banks is out of order.here in Germany you are not allowed to fish without a license.In order to obtain a license.You must first belong to a club,and within 12 months have visited Evening and weekend classes for at least 3 months.in order to pass a theory and written exam.Dealing with all aspects of fishing.If after passing.You then receive your papers.they will be confiscated if you step out of line.and you don't get them back.Of course it isn't all perfect,as we also have some anglers who dispose of litter and hooks illegally.We also put many hours in cleaning and cutting trees back.As well as fish consevation.The exam will set you about 200 pounds.for sea fishing you also need a license.Show your license at the town hall.It's another 60 pounds to obtain it.All these licenses are with a photograph.
Once on the coast.You need a permit to be able to fish.Another 20 pounds.It might be a good idea in england.To introduce it under European law.Protesters don't stand a chance.

John Davies, Carnforth (09/09/2006 at 21:41)

A fish's natural environment is water. Hence it wriggles and gasps when taken out of the place where it is most happy.
Take one fisherman out of his natural environment; put a hook through his top lip and drag him under water for a few minutes.
If he enjoys it, allow him to keep on fishing. If he survives the experience.

Arkan, M C R (10/09/2006 at 10:22)

Steve, first, tongues was more of a metaphor but in the same breath some fish do have tongues. Second .......... again a fish thrashing about on the end of a hookand line is that not a diplay of a tortuous act. As I say perviously would you do this to your 'gold fish' at home in the presence of the RSPCA?? and expect no criminal action ........ I wonder why that is. Put another way respect for animal life and how we treat our 'cousins' is a reflection of our own development ... but please don't tell me there is no suffering ......... and to derive pleasure from this is another story ..... OPEN YOUR EYES and evolve!! ...... this will become a larger issue in years to come, Anyone mention Kosher or halal ................

Major Clutterbuck - Greenwood, Cheshire (10/09/2006 at 11:30)

Pulling fishes out of the water by a hook! how cruel. I'm thinking about starting a new hunt - how about the 'Plumley Roach Hounds' - they would be a cross between a foxhound and a minkhound and would ensure a quick death by grabbing the fishes by the neck bringing about a quick and painless death - mind you we said that about foxhunting too until they caught us out!

Richard, Salford, Lancs. (10/09/2006 at 15:01)

Sounds like German burocracy at its finest there! Think they would win gold in the stamping of forms event at the world office olympics. Lord almighty.
I love it when mob-handed people wearing masks, armed with baseball bats, assaulting women, can claim their cause is an anti-cruelty one. It's the new football hooligansim hiding behind a flag of convenience.

David Greene, Stretford (10/09/2006 at 17:28)

Of course fishing is cruel. Anything which has a mind can experience suffering. Fish must have minds or they would not be able to function. All living beings have minds. Fishermen come up with suc words as ' the fish enjoy the thrill of the struggle'. What utter nonsense.

Eddie Sanders, Derby (10/09/2006 at 19:13)

If it wasn't for organisations such as the Anglers Co-operative Association or the National ederation of Anglers, there would be no fish in our freshwaters.

No-one has done more for the welfare of fish in England by combatting pollution, but of course that means nothing to these mindless, baseball bat-wielding cretins.

Where were they when industry was dumping toxic waste in such rivers as the Tame, rendered totally lifeless in the 1960's yet rescued by anglers?

Ricky G, Whitefield (10/09/2006 at 20:41)

Just wait - these people will want horse racing and greyhound racing banned next.. pidgeon fanciers beware - racing them for your pleasure will soon be a sin. What about all the bunnies children keep as pets...cruel!
Budgies - free them to die in the British cold weather...
The way they are going no-one will be allowed to keep or promote wildlife!! The only reason there are vast areas of countryside preserved for wildlife is because of fishing and hunting...
These nutters can't see how perverse their argument is !

Richard Swanson, Blackpool (10/09/2006 at 23:15)

Don't believe everything you read. I was driving past at the time of the incident when I saw these young men and women running out most of whom were NOT wearing masks. The ONLY person with a weapon was a a big fisherman who ran out after them brandishing a big stick above his head. I hope the police arrested that thug, but I doubt it.

joe 90, Stockport (11/09/2006 at 08:38)

Yesterday hunting, today angling, tomorrow farming livestock.

Not to mention testing essential drugs on animals, the activities of animal 'charities' attempting to stop any pet-keeping

Careful - the real threat to our ways of life do not necessarily come from those the press recognise as terrorists.

David C, City Centre (11/09/2006 at 09:17)

Its amazing how people have commented criticising fishing, I assume you people eat chicken?. If you want to see a definition of horrific, visit a battery farm, these animals experience nothing but misery from birth to death. The life of a fish far better even if it ends up being caught, at least it experiences some freedom in its life.

Terry, Tyldesley (11/09/2006 at 10:22)

There's only one good fish and that's a battered one with chips, why all the fuss there only fish, there are people starving in the world these people should concentrate on helping them, we have more intelligence than animals so to survive we eat them that's the way the world is, if it was the other way round I am sure they eat us.

Sandra, Galway (11/09/2006 at 11:17)

I personally believe that fishing is cruel. Whether the fish feels pain or not I don't know, but to be hauled out into an alien environment where they are unable to breathe has to cause great distress. Having said that, I don't agree with the HSA's method of operation. The minute a person or organisation resorts to violence then whatever moral high ground they have is lost. If they are serious about getting fishing banned then they should start gathering scientific and veterinary evidence and going through the proper legal and democratic channels. Random attacks such as this and antics like jumping in rivers just polarises opinion in both directions and makes the protestors (however well-intenioned) look like thuggish numpties with nothing better to do.

Anthony, Accrington,Lancashire (11/09/2006 at 13:06)

So Sandra and all advocates of violence who think fishing is cruel:is it right for hunt saboteurs to go round using physical violence and wanton aggression to get people to stop fishing? People who use thuggery/threatening behaviour/abusive language and violence untowards others to get what they want and ban things need locking up for a long time and ASBO's/restraining orders on their release applied to their behaviour, there is NO excuse whatsoever for this sort of thuggery.

()

Report

News