Sometimes, even compassionate people seem to disregard fish. I know: I was one of them. Years after I stopped eating meat, I identified as a vegetarian but would still have a little sushi. It was a long time before I realized—thanks to PETA—that fish are sentient beings who feel pain acutely and struggle against death. Perhaps a few other people are having their own "aha" moment right now, thanks to PETA Germany's recent victory for fish. 

Acting on a tip, two PETA Germany investigators joined some tourists on a crab fishing boat operating along the northern coast. The crab fishing itself wasn't illegal, but the way the anglers were tormenting their "bycatch," fish, certainly was. Under German law, fish must be instantly killed or placed in water after being caught. But these anglers were catching several fish in their crab traps and leaving the unwanted animals to asphyxiate to death on the boat. They even laughed about the animals' struggle to breathe before they died.

The investigators shot video evidence and began throwing suffering fish back into the water. Then they filed a complaint with the Hamburg District Attorney's Office, and the court slapped the owner of the boat with a fine of 400 euros (about $540). He and his crew will likely be taking fish protection laws more seriously now.

If you know someone who claims, "I'm a vegetarian, but I still eat fish," perhaps you can mention this story as a way of illustrating that fish feel pain and, like every other animal, deserve to be free from suffering. 

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: But when I became a man, I put away childish things."
1 Corinthians 13:11

When I was a child (in 1976), I entered—and "won"—a fishing contest. But when I became a man, I put away the childish rod and reel because I had learned that real men are kind to animals.

A recent study suggests that men tend to overcompensate when their masculinity is threatened, and this feeling of inadequacy can manifest itself as aggression toward others. So our friends at PETA U.K. are asking a question: Do anglers have small rods? Maybe they're overcompensating for something. I mean, why would a grown-up impale animals with a hook, pull them up out of the water, and let them slowly suffocate? Especially when we now know that fish are complex and intelligent individuals who experience terror and suffering just as land animals do. If anglers treated cats the way they treat fish, they could be put in prison on cruelty charges!

Head over to DoAnglersHaveSmallRods.com to see what's going on. And if you're not someone who stakes your manhood on the state of your tackle box, click here to find out what you can do to help fish.

Written by Jeff Mackey

guardian.co.uk / CC

Benson, a giant carp and a celebrity of sorts in Britain, has died. Angling fanatics are blaming her death on nuts, and so are we. But we aren't talking about peanuts, cashews, or pistachios—we are blaming the hordes of unhinged humans who hurt her for "fun."

It is estimated that during Benson's lifetime, she was painfully hooked and dragged from her aquatic home more than 60 times—that's right, six-zero—so that anglers could pose for a photo and then fling her back into the water.

Isn't it logical to believe that the pain and stress that she suffered over and over …

(and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over)

… again for anglers' so-called "sport" were contributing factors in her death? Why yes, it is.

As our friends over at PETA Europe told BBC News, "If common sense isn't enough, the science is clear: Being repeatedly impaled with a hook and yanked into an environment in which fish cannot breathe, like Benson [was], undeniably causes distress [and] pain and can lead to infections. Even simply handling or netting fish can abrade their protective coating and lead to death."

I'd say that pretty much sums it up, wouldn't you?

Written by Karin Bennett