Ramblings of a Crowe

Shark Bait

Today, while driving to work, I overheard the people at the Playhouse talking about Reunion Island, a French controlled area in the Indian ocean, and the fishing practices they use to catch sharks. Apparently this entales sticking live dogs or cats with big hooks, tying them to the back of a boat, and dragging them along while they struggle and bleed in the water.

I was horrified. Not so much to the fact that they are using dogs and cats, but that the animals were alive, skewered with huge hooks, and then tossed into the water to be eaten or drown (which ever comes first).

Thinking that this had to be a hoax, I managed to find some time and sit down to do some research. Apparently it's true, but of course, the media and animal rights people have taken the story and run with it. The practice is not as widely spread as they'd like us to think, but still horrible enough as it is (Video Feed).

Of course, this brings out all sorts of arguments--the most popular being, "Well, it happens to fish all the time." True enough. I'll have to agree. Do we relate more to dogs and cats because they're smart? Because they're a popular pet? Because they're cute? Aren't little sheep, ducklings, rabbits, and deer cute too? And let's not forget the pigs. Pigs are smarter than dogs (sorry dog lovers, it's true).

Before I get lynched and burned, I'd like to say I'm hardly advocating this kind or torture. Because that's exactly what it is. These dogs and cats suffer, feel terror and pain, from the minute they're stuck with hooks (through their mouths, feet, or both) and then thrown overboard. Animal torture of this calibur is wrong, whether it be a dog, cat, sheep, pig, snake, parrot, etc. Keeping cattle in a feedlot to be butchered isn't torture. Keeping pigs on a pig farm isn't torture. Nor are housing chickens in a chicken mill. Are there some farms that use inhumane practices on those 'food' animals? Yes. And they're disgusting too.

Having worked at a major meat packing plant, I've seen the red tape and the ominous people in white coats carrying clipboards making their inspections hourly. Our plant even had closed circut cams to watch over the animals being taken to the 'kill room' to make sure the animals were put down with the least amount of suffering and distress. (unlike those poor chickens). Regulations on animals being raised for food have gotten more strict (perhaps still not strict enough). Not to mention that many people seem to overlook the fact that treating animals poorly usually means loss of animals, which equates to loss of revenue. This is bad for business. Cows, pigs, and chickens aren't as cheap as people think they are.

So where does a person draw the line? Me, being a meat eater and all, draw the line at unnecessary torture. Animals being kept for food (or bait) should be put down (ie:killed) quickly and with the least amount of distress. This includes fish, dogs, livestock, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, or whatever you tend to think of as food. If you're a vegan, well, you don't have much to worry about I suppose (though plants are living things too, one could argue, since they respond to stimuli and their environment...).

At anyrate, animal rights has been, and always will be, a tricky subject. We live in a world where animals are necessary tools (sorry, but it's true), but they also deserve a certain level of respect as fellow citizens of the world. Where do we begin? There are so many arguments and factors--no one will ever agree.

Posted by Zoso at October 4, 2005 05:28 PM