Now let's ban fishing

From the Letters page of the Cambridge News 4th September 2002.

Now let's ban fishing!!

from Teresa Thom

I had the considerable displeasure of witnessing an act of great cruelty on a visit to a popular fishing spot near your offices on Saturday.

A group of people were engaged in a fishing match.

I could not believe that this hideous and grotesquely cruel practise is still permitted under British law.

Now that we are banning hunting with dogsin this country I am sure that we must ban this evil practise as soon as possible.

Please tell your readers that if they ever see this evil practise they are to approach the fishermen and women and tell them to stop.

I shall be returning to your area at the end of the month and looking for people who will support a ban on fishing.

James Street,
London W1

Enough said??????????????????????

Colin

I doubt if she'll get too many takers. Let's not be thrown into defensive mode by one silly lettr. Do you think the readers of the paper will be moved to approach anglers and declare, "I say, stop this evil practice"?

I think a pettition in the local tackle shops should convince the Editor of the Cambridge news that He/She can only stand to lose by allowing anti fishing propaganda news space. This is the trouble with these people they are well versed in making a lot of noise and convincing the general public and the press that they are not a tiny minority.

Member of public(MOP)" I say old chap, do you really think you ought to be doing that?"

Fisherman(F)"What?"

MOP " That fishing thingy,awfully cruel hey what"

F "Whatever you say pal"

MOP "I mean it,stop it now! Have you no consideration for the pain you inflict?"

F "Er well..."

MOP "Stop it now or I shall be forced to call a policeman."

F "Please yourself,its totally legal"

MOP "Not for long it won't be. Its about time the government took a firm line with you barbaric people, cruel in the extreme."

F "I am not cruel and certainly not barbaric,now will you get off the top of the bank you are scaring the fish away!"

MOP "This is a free country and I'll stand where I damned well like! I don't know who you think you are coming into the countryside,trampling through the vegetation and disturbing the wild life. All this rubbish is probably yours aswell."

F "Oh yeah I pushed all my tackle to the lake side in that old shopping trolley after I'd nicked it from Safeway didnt I?"

MOP " Dont be facaetious! This is a serious subject and you don't appear to be taking it seriously at all."

F "Look, if you've got an objection to fishing, go away and make it somewhere else. This is a perfectly legal pastime and I for one am not going to stop just because you don't like it. Now get off the bank!!"

MOP " I'm damned if I'm going to let some townie come down here and tell me what I can and can't do!"

F " Townie? I live just over two miles away and my two nearest neighbours are a dairy farm and Lord Gobbledegooks estate."

MOP " Well I am going to raise this with my MP. I shall see him tomorrow. "

F "So who's that then?"

MOP " The Right Honourable Rupert Effingham Pratt I'll have you know."

F "Oh yes, I know of him, the Tory MP for Kensington and Chelsea."

MOP "Thats the chappie, damned good man. He'll sort you lot out."

F "So you live in Chelsea then? Who's the townie now then?"

MOP "Irrelevant! What you are doing is cruel and barbaric and I shall have it stopped.Damned impertinence! Townie indeed!
I'll have you know that I have had a holiday home here for twenty years."

F " Go away and find out what you are talking about before you come here slagging me off. Now for the last time get off the top of the bank. You've probably scared all the fish off now anyway."

MOP "Well at least I've achieved something then. Hey, what are you doing, take your hands off me!"

SPLASH!!

Extreme I know but is it that far away from what could happen?

Ha, ha. Nice one Tony.

Perhaps we should call for a ban on 'anti-angling' letters to newspapers. After all they cause a great deal of suffering and distress to anglers.

Kevan

the women that wrote this stupid letter is probably 1 of these people that think driving a car is wrong caus of global warming. a ban on fishing will never come becaus there is nout wrong with it. no-one has a case for the ban of fishing that the goverment would buy. when the ban for fishing comes there will also be a ban on swating fly's with a rolled up newspaper!

This same letter has been seen in
various newspapers all over the
country.Ms.Thom certainly gets
around!!A number of replies have
been sent to all,if not most them.
Lets see if they are printed,I
very much doubt it!

kevan, a little while back in fm you produced a letter about peta for people to send to there local rags,can you forward a copy of this to me so i can send to relevant papers again and warn them off this woman who seems to everywhere she is not.

post me email addresses of the papers in which this letter has appeared from this deranged woman

nice to see 3 replies to miz thom's letter in the cambridge news tonight, all of them supporting angling.

one of them from colin brett.

From the letter page of the Chichester Observer 19th. Sept.02.
Indentical letter to the one in Cambridge. And ccording to the letter page in Angling Times same letters in PETERBOROUGH, SHROPSHIRE, AND WALSALL all
signed by THERESA THOM ST. JAMES, LONDON

LEWIS LEVITT

Aparently she viseted Aberdeen at the same time as well?

Guess what our famous Theresa has visited Southport and saw peeps fishing near the Southport Champion paper mm thats sounds intresting they must of been having a match in the water foutain or in a very nice Italian resurant who specialise in sea food or is she going to sample the local sea food .

Sounds like a girl whos done the circuit?

Guess what our famous Theresa has visited Southport and saw peeps fishing near the Southport Champion paper office which is sited in the town centre mmm thats sounds intresting they must of been having a match in the water foutain or in a very nice Italian resurant who specialise in sea food or is she going to sample the local sea food .