To the editor: Entanglement in crab fishing gear is likely one of the greatest threats to whales — extremely smart, advanced, majestic animals. (“New fishing gear means California can have its crab without killing whales,” letters, Feb. 13)
However there’s one other sufferer of economic fishing — crabs.
Identical to our companion canine and cats, crabs reside, feeling animals. They’re emotionally advanced beings who work collectively to assemble meals and for mutual safety. They usually endure the identical bodily ache all of us do.
Simply think about your legs being ripped off your physique or being boiled alive. It might be inconvenient to acknowledge that crabs are sentient, exceptional animals, however we now know they’re, and we should take a look at them with contemporary eyes.
The world now not has a thriving “lamp lighter” trade. Switchboard operators are a factor of the previous as properly. These endings weren’t a tragedy, however relatively a constructive signal of social progress.
It’s time for the industrial crab fishing trade to go. The survival of whales depends upon our compassion, and the financial system can be simply wonderful if we depart crabs alone.
Scott Miller, Norfolk, Va.
The author is a analysis specialist for fishing and waterways on the PETA Basis.
