In this day and age, any moron should know that all living creatures with a brain and a central nervous system feel pain. And, yes, they experience many emotions similar to those of humans...
I look forward to the day when more humans recognize that we are animals just like every other animal on this planet, and we do not corner the market on suffering...
People who say fish don't feel pain are either mentally disemboweled or morally dishonest.
Perhaps the fish would prefer being ripped apart and eaten alive by another fish, a swooping pelican, a bear...?
It seems the grievance is with Nature's God? Oh, wait, that's just a fiction, an opiate to keep the masses in check. Besides, when you're a feel-gooder, you can rationalize the food chain by visualizing anthropomorphic Disney cartoon animals and humming a few bars from "The Circle of Life"...
It's only when humans do it that it's bad.
These folks would ban fishing if it were in their power to do so. They'd also ban hunting (all you "sportsman" types take note).
Not meaning to start an off-guns-topic debate here, but how many of the letter writers worried about fish pain do you suppose would get equally worked up about the agony suffered by unborn humans as they're torn apart in the womb...?
Oh, wait, that's just a fiction too, the experts tell us. You know, the same experts who tell us guns are bad... mmkay?