Eminent Domain

Attention fishermen: PETA is trying to turn your children against you. I love the picture. I often go fishing (and clean fish) while wearing a suit. Who cleans a fish in mid-air and neglects to remove the hook? I think that this drawing may not be an accurate representation of most fishermen. PETA being deceitful?! Shocking, indeed.

Isn't it odd that it's just "Daddy" being targeted here? Isn't that incredibly sexist? Why can't Mommy be a brutal killer and take part in the rape of the natural world too?

My favorite quote is at the end...

Until your Daddy learns that 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!

Oh, Daddy. When will your blood lust end? PETA doesn't tell the kids that they oppose them having their doggies and kitties as pets anyway. PETA is for "total animal liberation."

From the Fishing Hurts web site...

fish look so unlike humans that many people don'’t realize that they feel pain, just as we do and lead complex intellectual lives that rival those of dogs and some other mammals.

Maybe my definition of "complex intellectual life" is different from PETA's. I have never seen a fish discuss Locke, write a treatise on Contract Law, or pen an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal. I'm not persuaded by equating fish to dogs as far as intellect either. My dog routinely takes a dump in the hallway and runs around scared when a garbage truck is nearby. He's no Voltaire.

More from Fishing Hurts...

Imagine reaching for an apple on a tree and having your hand suddenly impaled by a metal hook that drags you, the whole weight of your body pulling on that one hand, out of the air and into an atmosphere in which you cannot breathe. This is what fish experience when they are hooked for "“sport."”

It's called being at the top of the food chain. Enjoy it. It's pretty sweet.

If PETA thinks that they will shock me into not eating fish, think again. Smoked salmon, baked tilapia, seared tuna steaks... there is no way I am giving up that level of deliciousness on my plate. PETA is making the age-old mistake of overstating their argument to the point of absurdity. I'm not a total bastard. I refuse to eat foie gras because of how the geese are treated. I do think that there is a legitimate line between cruel treatment and simply killing an animal to eat. PETA doesn't believe that line exists.

You know, I have a few venison steaks and a pound of ground venison in the freezer right now. I think I'm going to grill the steaks this weekend in honor of PETA. I also eagerly await the PETA campaign against carnivorous animals. They can't stand idly by while there are lions killing antelope...