Something very interesting to us all.

[flybinder]

Swiss Ban Catch-and-Release

Yesterday Fly Talk's Kirk Deeter turned up a classic example of animal rights activism run wild. In Switzerland, new legislation designed to improve animal welfare includes a provision that "it is not permitted to go fishing with the 'intention' to release the fish." That caught they eye of anglers all over Europe, who want the Swiss to change the legislation before it is too late."It's believed that the legislation could affect as many as 275,000 anglers in Switzerland, who generate around 30 million Euros in annual tackle sales. EFTTA (European Fishing Tackle Trade Association) acting president, Pierangelo Zanetta, said: 'EFTTA does not believe that forcing anglers to kill their catches is either good for nature or for recreational sport fishing - which makes a significant financial contribution to the EU economy.'"
(END)

We all (myself included), laugh at times about groups like PETA and other "granola crunchers", and their often flamboyant attempts at attacking we fishermen and hunters. But we also need to take them very seriously as well.
The above article and links, are a perfect example of "what can happen to our sport, if we're not more diligent in keeping track of these organizations" and what they're up to in our fish and wildlife governing bodies.

[MNFisher]

There's no shortage of people wanting to tell you how to live your life......

[Bad Luck Larry]

You know what? Why don't we join all those fisherman and pull every fish out.
After all, they MUST know what is right! PETA has their finger on the pulse of those poor fishies!
YOU GUYS ARE ALL MEAN!! Getting your jolies catching poor little fishies! THEN letting them go! shame!

Now where did I put the hook sharpener?


HAR!

Bad Luck La(HAR!)ry

[Joe Valencic]

I cannot think of anything nice to say about PETA or the Swiss, so ......

[perch]

appropriate . Im not too very sure at the exact quote , and if some one knows it to be different than please correct me .
" You sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on your part ".
This is for all of the pacifists (AKA "granola munchers) that think that the worlds troubles would be solved by a very large group hug with all of the peoples that hate us as Americans or the Americans that want to control all us other Americans that dont know how to properly behave ourselves. There are our fellow Americans that honestly believe that the greater majority of us do not in fact know how to control our individual lives and that they have better ideas for us. PETA is just one group. Watch them . Watch groups like them. Watch them closely. Once they have even a partial insinuation into somthing then they are in and they wont be dislodged. Europe has a history of being overwhelmingly controlled by little knotts of people who know best for the majority.
Wow, this thread has just wound me up way to tight.
I better go have some more coffee and relax a bit.

Cheers ,
Perch

[joerogrz]

What bothers me about the whole activist thing is that when these "tree-huggers" finally get their way and the fishermen and hunters can no longer do what they do, what happens to all the public lands and wildlife management areas?

Some of these areas are really pristine and prime for wildlife. With the way the state governments have been selling off these lands, I'm worried about what will happen to the land that's left. I can't stand the thought of these places being sold for commercial/industrial/residential development. People should really think about what they're doing...

And another point that hasn't been brought up... What if we just left all of this wildlife to roam about and keep reproducing? Eventually, species currently listed as "game" would become "nuisance" and the government would have to get it under control. Now I'm not saying there are going to be rogue schools of fish causing trouble, but there are animals that would become nuisance species if they weren't hunted or fished. There are already some that are considered nuisance species, because of morons bringing them from overseas and releasing them here and others that were already here, but rarely hunted. TN had rewards for people killing coyotes at one time just to keep the population down. I don't know if that's still in effect though.

[Old #art]

Meant Swiss--not swill above
Quote---copy and paste

At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the "dignity" of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. This is no hoax. The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated.

A few years ago the Swiss added to their national constitution a provision requiring "account to be taken of the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms." No one knew exactly what it meant, so they asked the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology to figure it out. The resulting report, "The Dignity of Living Beings with Regard to Plants," is enough to short circuit the brain.

A "clear majority" of the panel adopted what it called a "biocentric" moral view, meaning that "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive." Thus, the panel determined that we cannot claim "absolute ownership" over plants and, moreover, that "individual plants have an inherent worth." This means that "we may not use them just as we please, even if the plant community is not in danger, or if our actions do not endanger the species, or if we are not acting arbitrarily."

The committee offered this illustration: A farmer mows his field (apparently an acceptable action, perhaps because the hay is intended to feed the farmer's herd--the report doesn't say). But then, while walking home, he casually "decapitates" some wildflowers with his scythe. The panel
decries this act as immoral, though its members can't agree why. The report states, opaquely:

At this point it remains unclear whether this action is condemned because it expresses a particular moral stance of the farmer toward other organisms or because something bad is being done to the flowers themselves.

What is clear, however, is that Switzerland's enshrining of "plant dignity" is a symptom of a cultural disease that has infected Western civilization, causing us to lose the ability to think critically and distinguish serious from frivolous ethical concerns. It also reflects the triumph of a radical anthropomorphism that views elements of the natural world as morally equivalent to people.
-----End of quote

George

[crazy4oldcars]

How long has it been since y'all read "The Time Machine"?
As I remember it, there were two groups left in "civilization".
The first lolled about indolently above ground, eating grapes and drinking wine, while the other, larger, specimens lived underground, and performed all of the work. Occasionally coming up to the surface to eat a few of the first group.
The upper group were the "thinkers", the lower, the "doers". I think the "thinkers" are trying to start an end run. Maybe H.G. Wells was a prognosticator.
Wait, I'm a "doer". I guess I shouldn't be thinking, then. Sorry, I'll quit, now.

Kirk

[EdD]

I cannot think of anything nice to say about PETA or the Swiss, so ......

The Cumberland Chapter of TU has a very nice gentleman from Switzerland as a member. He has been the featured fly tyer at least once or twice and he gave a very nice talk on trout fishing in Switzerland.

Ed

[EdD]

Old #art, I believe that all plants have inherent value. Of course that doesn't mean that plants can't be a lot more of a bane than a benefit. Some of the plants in my yard have been voted to the compost pile, as their greatest inherent value...

Ed