Live Dogs Used As Shark Bait

[Mercy!]

 

I’m not sure, but I think the organization at the link below was the first to widely publicize the practice of using live dogs and cats as fish bait on the French island of La Reunion.

 

http://www.seashepherd.org/news/media_050929_1.html

 

The story gained wider circulation when it was picked up by this London tabloid:

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005460101,00.html

 

Perhaps we've been castrating the wrong species.

[Rowand44]

I would kill that guy if I ever saw him.

[Heads22]

That is f***ing horrible.

[southsider2k5]

You know what else makes good sharkbait? Asshole fisherman beaten to a bloody bulp and thrown into shark infested waters.

[Milkman delivers]

I would kill that guy if I ever saw him.

 

f*** yeah. Man, people suck.

[Milkman delivers]

How can people have the heart do that, honestly. Wow.

 

They don't have hearts. They don't have souls either. They should die terrible deaths.

[Texsox]

You know what else makes good sharkbait?  Asshole fisherman beaten to a bloody bulp and thrown into shark infested waters.

 

SS, where is the first place to go when you read a story like this?

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/sharkbait.asp

[southsider2k5]

SS, where is the first place to go when you read a story like this?

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/sharkbait.asp

 

Bah, I usually check that too.

[KipWellsFan]

I doubt that photo is of a live dog being used as shark bait. Is some super shark supposed to get the whole dog in his mouth and get hooked?

[Kyyle23]

Can you post what snopes says? I cant link it at work, apparently it has been deemed "graphic" by the moderators of my office network

[Balance]

I hope that the story is not true. That picture was just hearbreaking.

[GoodAsGould]

Dogs would be horrible bait unless they have an open wound but I dont see how Dogs would be better than whatevr they used b4.

[Texsox]

Can you post what snopes says?  I cant link it at work, apparently it has been deemed "graphic" by the moderators of my office network

 

Many observers remain skeptical of such claims, however, positing theories that range from media and animal rights groups having been taken in by a hoax to a deliberate disinformation campaign being waged by activists who seek to end the slaughter of sharks for their fins and cartilage by Indian Ocean fisherman. Arguments have flown back and forth over the practicality and plausibility (or lack thereof) of Réunion Islanders fishing for sharks in the manner described.

 

Based on a recent Réunion newspaper article which acknowledged the practice and reported the recent prosecution of a deliveryman (and amateur fisherman) on that island over animal cruelty charges associated with the described activity, we'd have to say there is some truth to the shark-fishing claim, although the practice does not appear to be as widespread or horrific (or tolerated) as implied by recent news stories. Rather than describing hordes of shark fisherman impaling live dogs on hooks and dragging them behind boats as shark bait, the article notes that employing dogs in shark-fishing is largely the province of a small group of amateur fisherman rather than large numbers of professionals, that the dogs used are generally dead animals picked up from roadsides or culled from the island's large population of unwanted strays (estimated at 150,000), and that the no-longer-alive animals are attached to unattended buoyed "shark trap" platforms rather than dragged alive behind boats.

 

that is some of it!

[Mercy!]

SS, where is the first place to go when you read a story like this?

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/sharkbait.asp

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I’ll be happy to summarize:

 

ACCORDING TO THE REUNION GOVERNMENT ITSELF, The practice of using live dogs for shark bait “… was never widespread nor traditional, but introduced by ruthless individuals, and has been strictly banned for decades now.”

 

Translation: ALL our fisherman don’t do this, just an isolated, few depraved individuals.

 

Whew! I feel better now. Kind of the same way as I would if I read that this had happened on Lake Michigan.

 

EDIT: Also, as the newspaper in Reunion plainly stated, the first person arrested and prosecuted for this crime as a result of the publicity admitted his guilt in court.

 

I’m not exactly sure why the fact that “amateur fishermen” utilize this practice makes it somehow less disgusting or an “urban legend.” Tex? Anyone?

Edited October 18, 2005 by Mercy!

[Texsox]

Mercy I'll play.

 

I believe they said they are using roadkills or strays. But that doesn't matter much to my point.

 

We euthanize dogs and cats by the thousands every day in American because people allow their pets to breed but don't want the puppies and kittens. We systematically and institutionally slaughter millions of cows, pigs, chickens, and fish every month.

 

Read the label on dog food. Made with real chicken, 100% pure beef. So we slaughter a chicken to feed the dog, but slaughtering the dog to catch a shark is wrong? Why does the chicken or cow have a higher moral value than the dog? Interesting isn't it?

 

The protein used in pet food comes from a variety of sources. When cattle, swine, chickens, lambs, or other animals are slaughtered, the choice cuts such as lean muscle tissue are trimmed away from the carcass for human consumption. However, about 50% of every food-producing animal does not get used in human foods. Whatever remains of the carcass -- bones, blood, intestines, lungs, ligaments, and almost all the other parts not generally consumed by humans -- is used in pet food, animal feed, and other products. These "other parts" are known as "by-products," "meat-and-bone-meal," or similar names on pet food labels.

 

The Pet Food Institute -- the trade association of pet food manufacturers -- acknowledges the use of by-products in pet foods as additional income for processors and farmers: "The growth of the pet food industry not only provided pet owners with better foods for their pets, but also created profitable additional markets for American farm products and for the byproducts of the meat packing, poultry, and other food industries which prepare food for human consumption."1

 

The one person here who I believe has a strong moral platform to condem this practice is ChiSoxy, who hates plants so much she only eats plants, no animal meat. Mercy, if you are also a vegetarian, I must bow out of this game and concede your point. But any carnivore has little room to complain.

[WilliamTell]

That's terrible. Using dogs or cats is rediculous. To me it's kind of like those witchcraft people with black cats on Halloween. If I ever ran into some group doing that or knew of someone, there'd be hell to pay.

[Texsox]

That's terrible. Using dogs or cats is rediculous. To me it's kind of like those witchcraft people with black cats on Halloween. If I ever ran into some group doing that or knew of someone, there'd be hell to pay.

 

Do you have a problem with feeding chickens and cows to dogs?

[WilliamTell]

Mercy I'll play.

 

I believe they said they are using roadkills or strays. But that doesn't matter much to my point.

 

We euthanize dogs and cats by the thousands every day in American because people allow their pets to breed but don't want the puppies and kittens. We systematically and institutionally slaughter millions of cows, pigs, chickens, and fish every month.

 

Read the label on dog food. Made with real chicken, 100% pure beef. So we slaughter a chicken to feed the dog, but slaughtering the dog to catch a shark is wrong? Why does the chicken or cow have a higher moral value than the dog? Interesting isn't it?

The one person here who I believe has a strong moral platform to condem this practice is ChiSoxy, who hates plants so much she only eats plants, no animal meat. Mercy, if you are also a vegetarian, I must bow out of this game and concede your point. But any carnivore has little room to complain.

 

I'm guessing most of us are omnivores but I get your point. I might be able to tolerate it more if the animal was dead. But I doubt sharks would be for it then. Anyways I'm not a farmer (surprsingly since I'm from Iowa, haha) but I don't think the chickens and the cows get eaten alive. Some chickens and cows are raised to be slaughtered for food, I'm guessing these dogs weren't raised for it, but I could be wrong.

[WilliamTell]

Do you have a problem with feeding chickens and cows to dogs?

 

They're bred for that purpose and it's not like the dogs are eating them alive.

Edited October 18, 2005 by WilliamTell

[Soxy]

Read the label on dog food. Made with real chicken, 100% pure beef. So we slaughter a chicken to feed the dog, but slaughtering the dog to catch a shark is wrong? Why does the chicken or cow have a higher moral value than the dog? Interesting isn't it?

The one person here who I believe has a strong moral platform to condem this practice is ChiSoxy, who hates plants so much she only eats plants, no animal meat.

Yes, but I'm afraid my lovely new Danskos will reveal that I, alas, wear leather. I also feed my cats food that is decidedly not vegetarian.

 

Essentially I recognize that my pets biologically need meat to survive, but I don't. My gripe with meat, usually, though is not that I'm eating flesh (although that sometimes skives me out), but how inhumanely the animals were treated while alive. I think that if I could buy meat that is raised humanely and killed "humanely" (See: Temple Graden, s*** spelled that wrong, but it's close) I would consider eating meat again. For the same reason I would never buy a pet from a "puppy farm" or a lot of show dogs etc that have a lot of health problems from inbreeding. I just feel like if we can reduce the suffering of our animal friends we should. (As for the shoes, it's super hard to find non-leather shoes with good arch support that last a long time)

Edited October 18, 2005 by ChiSoxyGirl

[Texsox]

I wonder if we were in a society that viewed dogs as livestock, a food source, if we would be that outraged? We accept the slaughter of cows, pigs, lamb, chickens, turkeys, etc. without a second thought. But dogs and cats have a higher moral value for some reason.

 

 

Danskos? Cloggin' Soxy?

[Soxy]

Didn't feel like editing my post again. Here's a link on the humane slaughter thing (although, I admit, it's still an oxymoron). http://www.grandin.com/ She's a really incredible woman (albeit with AWFUL fashion sense).

 

EDIT: I am also not opposed to the use of animals in SCIENTIFIC (not cosmetic, I won't buy cosmetics that have been tested on animals) research. And, I can assure you, I have more cognitive dissonance from the wearing leather thing than supporting research. . .

Edited October 18, 2005 by ChiSoxyGirl

[Soxy]

I wonder if we were in a society that viewed dogs as  livestock,  a food source, if we would be that outraged? We accept the slaughter of cows, pigs, lamb, chickens, turkeys, etc. without a second thought. But dogs and cats have a higher moral value for some reason.

Danskos? Cloggin' Soxy?

Most comfortable shoes I've ever owned. Although, with my ankle/foot the size it currently is, I can't wear them.

 

And I think dogs and cats are different because they're commonly pets and so snuggly.

Edited October 18, 2005 by ChiSoxyGirl

[GoodAsGould]

I wonder if we were in a society that viewed dogs as  livestock,  a food source, if we would be that outraged? We accept the slaughter of cows, pigs, lamb, chickens, turkeys, etc. without a second thought. But dogs and cats have a higher moral value for some reason.

Danskos? Cloggin' Soxy?

 

 

Well do you have any pet Cows, pigs, lambs, chickens, or turkeys? Another thing none of those animals can really be house trained and wont ever be able to be as close to a human as a dog or cat. I wonder how Dbaho would feel about this dont they eat wild dogs down under.... I guess I wouldnt mind if the Dog was dead but if it was alive while they do it thats just wrong....

[Soxy]

I wonder how Dbaho would feel about this dont they eat wild dogs down under.... I guess I wouldnt mind if the Dog was dead but if it was alive while they do it thats just wrong....

Nah, I think they just kill the dingos for eating the sheep (I mean, without the sheep, the Aussies would have nothing to shag, right? SHEEP SHAGGERS! ;-) )