An Anecdote by Kevin Dunston

I read an article on AOL News about a farm where they were feeding their cattle red wine.  This was supposed to enhance the flavor of the meat somehow. I am a very strong advocate for the humane treatment of farm animals.  In the comment section after the article, I stated that this type of behavior would be like giving any animal an excessive amount of alcohol, or human being for that matter, and shouldn't be done.  Surprisingly, there are instances when a small amount of alcohol can be a beneficial and tasty treat for some animals, when given responsibly and out of love. I further commented that people's actions are often irresponsible and unnecessarily abusive to animals.  Many people justify these actions by conjuring up all sorts of erroneous and inaccurate information such as the satement that fish don't feel pain when hooked. Another reader subsequently commented on my statement saying that giving the cattle wine was probably the best thing for them, alluding that being under the influence of alcohol would make their lives more tolerable before they were slaughtered.   She further stated that fish don't have nerve endings in their heads, so hooking them doesn't hurt.  To my knowledge, in order to have voluntary muscle movement such as the opening and closing your mouth, there must be nerve tissue.  Sight, and the sense of smell, and taste also require nerve tissue.  Though smaller and less complicated species of animals have a lower sensitivity to nerve stimuli than more elaborate and advanced species, pain and fear is a common experience of all animals.  This is something even a child can discern.  I recieved the the following anecdote from Kevin Dunston yesterday which was the motivation for this post. 

 

My father took me fishing with him when I was a kid. I remember our first fishing outing. I sat on the boat with him early on that Saturday morning and waited for a bite. While waiting I noticed a few dead fish floating near by, I said Daddy let's just get those fish they are already dead. He told me they would make us sick and about disease, decay and such. I finished my doughnut and hot cocoa. Then my dad got a bite on his line, no struggle ensued, he simply reeled it in. As he tried to take the hook out of the fishes mouth I realized the fish was both in pain and scared. I FREAKED out. Daddy let him go, you're hurting him. Please let him go! You're hurting him! My father looked at me in disbelief. He then quietly and simply took the hook out of the fishes mouth and rowed us to shore. He took me home in close to near silence, well as much silence that a 5 year old will allow any adult to experience. I sang songs, wiggled around too much in the seat, asked if we could get toys, comics and candy before we went home and tried to sound out words on billboards and signs. When I got home my Dad simply said to my Mom, guess what your son did today. I don't remember the rest I was busy eating candy, playing with new toys and reading comics. Mr. Fish was FREE! Life was good.

Kevin D.