[Jeff Higgins]

The Snopes article appears to be the most reasoned look at this very disturbing practice. It does cast a lot of doubt on how wide spread it is and whether the cute pup in the photo is really related to this in any way. Yes, the folks involved, if there is anything to this, are the lowest of low on our evolutionary ladder. Be carefull in jumping to conclusions, as Snopes cautions, however. Some of the folks on the other side of the fisherman/hunter vs. animal "rights" debate are just as low.

As a life-long hunter I have seen the ugly side of the animal rights crusade. It would certainly not be below them to take advantage of an opportunity to use this photo to further their objectives even if it is totaly unrelated to the issue at hand. I'm calling bull***** on the whole thing, at least as a widespread practice, just as Snoipes is hinting. The animal rights crowd certainly gets the desired effect - shock and outrage - when they parade cute pups being abused by cruel men. They really don't care if it is true or not; their objectives go beyond these specific incidents. They are trying to build an image of fishermen and hunters as inheirantly cruel, so that is what the public thinks of when they come to mind. They will flat out lie and misslead to accomplish this public image shift. As more and more folks never get exposed to these pursuits, it becomes easier and easier for the animal rights crowd to pass off their improbable scenarios as fact.

As both a fisherman and dog owner, I understand how quickly my dog would pull that set-up right through her own face, and how nearly impossible it would be to actually troll one like that. If all legs were bound as stated, it would quickly drown anyway. Why even start with a live one and put up with the hassles associated with that? Snopes says they normally pick up dead ones from the ditch. That would be far easier to deal with on board a boat and in setting up to fish with. Anyone that does much fishing would realize this.

So, even if these people are exceedingly cruel, I bet they are also somewhat lazy about all of this and take the easiest route. Why bother with live ones when dead ones are easier to handle and get the same results? It just does not add up, unless you are a PETA member looking for a reaction.