BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Richard Klim" data-source="post: 3289782" data-attributes="member: 773">I've said it before but I'll try once more - given that Alan has spent the last few days excitedly labouring the same points again and again and again... <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" />We all know that it's completely unnecessary to kill and eat animals - it's just an indulgent (albeit often traditional) lifestyle choice.  So how does low-level sustainable scientific collecting compare with, say, commercial fishing?  Anyone who enjoys eating wild-caught marine fish is condoning the trawling of the oceans for huge tonnages of wild vertebrates, with the by-catch thrown overboard (dead), and massive destruction of seabed communities (dead). Given the crude methods, even so-called 'sustainable' fishing is inevitably still largely indiscriminate, with unwanted species discarded (dead).I have some respect for those objecting to scientific collecting who are committed vegetarians (and eschew unnecessary air travel, frequent ridiculous motorway journeys to twitch vagrant birds etc etc).  But anyone who protests about the collecting of a few, sometimes 'cute', birds whilst continuing to enjoy their fish n chips is a complete hypocrite.</blockquote>