Swiss Ban Catch-and-Release

Yesterday Fly Talk‘s Kirk Deeter turned up a classic example of animal rights activism run wild. In Switzerland, new legislation designed to improve animal welfare includes a provision that “it is not permitted to go fishing with the ‘intention’ to release the fish.” That caught they eye of anglers all over Europe, who want the Swiss to change the legislation before it is too late.”It’s believed that the legislation could affect as many as 275,000 anglers in Switzerland, who generate around 30 million Euros in annual tackle sales. EFTTA (European Fishing Tackle Trade Association) acting president, Pierangelo Zanetta, said: ‘EFTTA does not believe that forcing anglers to kill their catches is either good for nature or for recreational sport fishing – which makes a significant financial contribution to the EU economy.'”