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SABBING ANGLING

The number of sab groups including angling in their activities is increasing. On the whole anglers are less likely to get pleasure out of the suffering they cause than hunters and enjoy instead the mindlessness of outwitting a fish into impaling itself on a hook, they don't tend to be inherently violent. This is a bonus if you are a small group, as you can sab more anglers than you might want to confront if they were all blood crazed terrier boys. The other thing about sabbing angling, is that it can form a satisfying end to a day, after dealing with a hound pack.
    A number of different tactics have so far been effectively employed:

      1. One of the best has got to be the use of a canoe or rowing boat to make the anglers pull their lines in and disturb the fish. They may not even realise you're sabbing them, unless you've got a purple mohican.

      2. The fish can be disturbed by throwing medium-sized stones in the water - not huge rocks as they may stun the fish through vibrations in the water.

      3. Standing behind anglers, having a noisy chat about how many they've caught, can cause a shadow, disturbing the fish.

    Pre-feeding is not now thought to be a good idea, because unless huge quantities of groundbait are used in an area, you will just be doing the anglers job for them by attracting fish and encouraging them to feed. Additionally, the huge amounts of food needed may well not be eaten and will rot, causing pollution.

There are a number of things that can be done to sab matches, which are described in the HSA Tactics booklet or on a fact sheet available from the Abolition of Angling. We also want to hear about any new ideas for tactics and what's going on in different areas, so please do get in contact.

The angling fraternity are getting worried about the reducing numbers of people, especially youngsters, taking up their pastime and have responded by organising a pro-angling week from 22nd to 30th August 1992. The idea of the week is to involve as many of the public as possible and get more media endorsement of angling. The week opens with a celebrity angling match in the Leicester area with lots of other things promised. it's a perfect opportunity to get active and make these animal abusers realise what they're up against.

Marianne Macdonald.

Pisces (Campaign for the Abolition of Angling)
BM Fish, London, WC1N 3XX,UK.
Telephone:01792 464 176 Pager:04325 607 389.
Email: caa@londonaa.demon.co.uk

Why not check out the Pisces web site for more info.

Reproduced from HOWL (No 49, Summer 92) - magazine of the Hunt Saboteurs Association.
PO Box 5254, Northampton, UK. NN1 3ZA
Telephone: (+44) 0845 4500727
Email: info@huntsabs.org.uk

See also : What's wrong with angling?