“Asphyxiated”, “trapped”, “skinned”… Activists made signs with large photos of fish caught in Paris, suffering or simply dead. The Paz association, Paris Animaux Zoopolis, which is preparing its happening in front of the Paris City Hall, wants to support the wish submitted by the group Les Ecologistes en Conseil de Pariswhich calls for a ban on recreational fishing.
“Scientific studies reveal that fish, in their great diversity, have diverse cognitive capacities, feel suffering, have an emotional life and bear witness to cultural exchanges” argues the wish of the group, which asks the city to ask the prefect “to ban fishing in Paris”.
Switzerland, Germany and Colombia have banned recreational fishing
A majority of Parisians (63%) would also be in favor, according to a Paz survey carried out in 2020 by Ifop for the association. You should know that the consumption of fish caught in the capital is already prohibited, for health reasons. So why not push the logic to its limits, asks Paz?
“In Paris, it is forbidden to eat fish from the Seine and other canals, although it is allowed to fish for them. This is nonsense! As long as it allows fish to be harmed or killed just for fun, the City of Paris will not be exemplary in terms of animal conditions. Switzerland, Germany and very recently Colombia have banned recreational fishing (if there is no consumption), it is time for Paris to do the same. » estimates Amandine Sanvisens, co-founder of PAZ.
Recommendations for live fishing
This wish, however, is unlikely to be adopted, according to our information. The executive should renew the agreements authorizing recreational fishing on the Ourcqwhich ended on December 31, 2021, simply recalling the recommendations of the town hall “not to use hooks with barbs and not to engage in live fishing on your property”, in accordance with a wish voted in February 2021.
Live fishing consists of spearing a small live fish with a hook, so that it serves as bait to catch a larger one. Fish that have not been eaten straight away serve as bait for further fishing until they die, with the suffering lasting several hours.
Contacted by 20 minutes, Paris City Hall did not wish to comment before the vote. A previous wish calling for a ban on recreational fishing had already been rejected in 2018.