I used to like catch-and-release fishing, but then I started asking myself if the pleasure I derived from fishing was worth the pain and suffering I caused to the fish. First, they were impaled through the mouth by a hook. Then, as they fought to free themselves, I would drag them slowly but surely through the water, again, by a hook through their flesh. I then hauled them out into an atmosphere in which they could not breathe, removed the hook while they suffocated, and tossed them back into the water. Did they recover? Perhaps some did, and perhaps some died from the stress of the ordeal.
And for what? A bit of diversion for myself. I decided it wasn’t worth what they had to endure, so I stopped.
Even if you eat what you catch, fishing is a painful process for the fish, made far worse by people who afterwards don’t stun the fish with a club, but just let the fish slowly suffocate to death.
There are better ways to entertain oneself and relax than by causing pain and suffering and death to an animal. In a time of pandemic, when we are surrounded by so much misery and anxiety, and contemplating the beauty and fragility of life, we should truly consider treating the rest of creation with kindness and compassion.