Live feeding as a crime.

[E.C.]

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=3713 Check the links, it's a good read.

I know some of our enthusiast of the said hobby really detest giving live fish, transmission of diseases, unwanted aggression so on and so forth. But there will be cases that our fish is really into live feeds and won't do dead, prepared or pellets into their liking. What do you think about this? Specially this would be a big notice for those people who do want to convert their fish feeding habits, I on the other hand gives feeders every week as the fish's part of diet which consist of my own bred feeder fish. (Knife Live bearers / Endler Guppies) Discussion is open.

 

[David R]

Interesting article. Firstly, I think it is great to see authorities [trying to] treat the ill-treatment of fish and inverts in a similar fashion to the mistreatment of more typical pets like cats or dogs. However, I do believe that feeding live fish to predatory fish is in many ways natural, and does not necessarily have to cause unnecessary suffering to the prey. I've seen a video on youtube of a [insert bad language and offensive names] feeding a group of hungry piranha a goldfish that was nearly the same size as the piranha. That kind of "bloodsport" makes me sick and IMO that kind of person has no place keeping animals full stop, if this sort of law can lead to them being prosecuted then I'm all for it. On the other hand, I've fed fish like datnoids, bichirs and arowana the occasional feeder, and if sized appropriately it is usually over in a matter of seconds (or a few split seconds in the case of the dat, can't believe how fast they strike!) and subsequently I felt no guilt as it was a perfectly "natural" death for the feeder fish.

It is a simple fact of the hobby that some fish are obligate piscivores and regardless of what the owner tries they will eat nothing but live fish, sometimes you just can't undo evolution/creation. One could probably argue that not feeding live feeders to a fish that refuses any other foods and allowing it to starve is more inhumane than feeding appropriately sized live foods...

 

[Ryan144]

Although I think this laws well meaning it would make it nearly impossible to keep some types of fish.

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[houie925]

If keeping fish that reproduce easily isn't banned then folks will continue feeding live if they choose, they just won't tell the world about it if they're smart.

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[Cu455]

I don't use live fish, but I am happy this is a UK law and not a US law.

 

[E.C.]

That's what I'm getting at, piscivores are to be threaten by this kind of laws, I mean if it goes like this would we just give euthanasia for the said fish cause it won't feed other else? or again dump it to the creeks/rivers as some nut heads would do... It would phase out all kinds of piscivores if it goes down. Sadness will fell for those who will be under this kind of laws.

 

[Squirtle919]

Interesting article. Firstly, I think it is great to see authorities [trying to] treat the ill-treatment of fish and inverts in a similar fashion to the mistreatment of more typical pets like cats or dogs. However, I do believe that feeding live fish to predatory fish is in many ways natural, and does not necessarily have to cause unnecessary suffering to the prey. I've seen a video on youtube of a [insert bad language and offensive names] feeding a group of hungry piranha a goldfish that was nearly the same size as the piranha. That kind of "bloodsport" makes me sick and IMO that kind of person has no place keeping animals full stop, if this sort of law can lead to them being prosecuted then I'm all for it. On the other hand, I've fed fish like datnoids, bichirs and arowana the occasional feeder, and if sized appropriately it is usually over in a matter of seconds (or a few split seconds in the case of the dat, can't believe how fast they strike!) and subsequently I felt no guilt as it was a perfectly "natural" death for the feeder fish.

It is a simple fact of the hobby that some fish are obligate piscivores and regardless of what the owner tries they will eat nothing but live fish, sometimes you just can't undo evolution/creation. One could probably argue that not feeding live feeders to a fish that refuses any other foods and allowing it to starve is more inhumane than feeding appropriately sized live foods...

Could not agree more with this. +1

 

[BuffaloPolypteridae]

Interesting article. Firstly, I think it is great to see authorities [trying to] treat the ill-treatment of fish and inverts in a similar fashion to the mistreatment of more typical pets like cats or dogs. However, I do believe that feeding live fish to predatory fish is in many ways natural, and does not necessarily have to cause unnecessary suffering to the prey. I've seen a video on youtube of a [insert bad language and offensive names] feeding a group of hungry piranha a goldfish that was nearly the same size as the piranha. That kind of "bloodsport" makes me sick and IMO that kind of person has no place keeping animals full stop, if this sort of law can lead to them being prosecuted then I'm all for it. On the other hand, I've fed fish like datnoids, bichirs and arowana the occasional feeder, and if sized appropriately it is usually over in a matter of seconds (or a few split seconds in the case of the dat, can't believe how fast they strike!) and subsequently I felt no guilt as it was a perfectly "natural" death for the feeder fish.

It is a simple fact of the hobby that some fish are obligate piscivores and regardless of what the owner tries they will eat nothing but live fish, sometimes you just can't undo evolution/creation. One could probably argue that not feeding live feeders to a fish that refuses any other foods and allowing it to starve is more inhumane than feeding appropriately sized live foods...

I completely agree, feeding things like small live bearers and guppys minnows etc to appropriate sized predators is fine, but the person who keeps those pirahnas doesn't care about the fish, all he cares about is the violence. That happens with any kind of animal (dog fights chicken fights hell they even fight sparrows apparently), but as long as it was stated, is an appropriate feeder fish, then I see nothing wrong with natural predation.

I would imagine eating a live fish would help with aggression towards other fish, I myself breed mollies for my bichir and wolf fish, and usually put about 4 or 5 of em in there once a week. The one time I didn't use feeders for a period ( I was genuinely trying to break them into pellets before I started breeding ) the wolf fish was stealing pellets/filet/shrimp from the bichir resulting in nips and bites that never happened before, so as a healthier feeder I use the mollies.

Such uses of live feeders is just fine. They die quickly, and that is exactly what happens to fish like those in the wild, they get eaten by larger fish. Its nature. I do enjoy watching my preds hunt, but there is nothing gruesome about it, they swallow them within a second or 2.

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[ecoli73]

Piranhas or any other fish armed with similar teeth tearing apart a larger prey is not natural?

I guess people forgot to tell that to the fish in the wild.

I don't feed live food to my fish, but having such laws are stupid. Glad that's not coming to US.


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[BuffaloPolypteridae]

I read into the responses on the article, they bring up valid points in that in saying live feeding is a crime then daphnia, brine, and krill would all be outlawed. Along with crickets, mealworms, and anything alive. This doesn't make much sense seeing as though whoever makes the flake and pellet food, kills fish to make the food, in a much more brutal way then a live feeder going about its buisness then being chomped in 2 seconds by a wolf fish

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