They almost completely lack intelligence, don't they?
I went through a phase of eating insects at one point because I determined they aren't sophisticated enough to feel suffering.
Ants are zesty. They taste like citrus fruits.
I disagree that they don't feel suffering I think they definitely do as an example I grew up accepting acceptable culture of coarse fishing we call it in the United Kingdom basically fishing on still waters for fun sake only catch whatever you want as long as you pay the government your annual rod license.
Now a big part of me was never comfortable with this for good reason being a spiritual person and a man of reason deep down.
I grew up being taken and then going by myself fishing regularly as a way of basically spending time in nature all school holidays I might as typically go fishing every day getting up and leaving at 3:30 am with a bicycle packed with all of my basic fishing equipment and umbrella and food and more and not go home until 4 pm.
I was quite a rubbish fisherman I lost more fish then I have a court and I missed more bites then I struck right.
I could barely tie hooks properly I was just so unprofessional the whole thing is to damn material and competitive for me anyway.
So I was 17 years old and I did actually enjoy the whole ritual and pastime. When I had this genuine flick book style visionary dream one day which was so astoundingly clear a message from my higher self to myself.
I used to catch green Tench early dawn typically. So one day I was having this really vivid dream that I was hooked onto a world record tench in my living room though at home.
Full fishing rod and line. Except only the tail of the fish was visible sticking out from behind a curtain covering our dining table chairs so that you couldn't see the rest of the tench behind the curtain from the tail alone it was probably over 40 lbs and the world record was maybe 13-15 lbs then.
What I used to do, playing games with dogs, I tied thick strong rpund a tennis ball, tied to short half fishing rod, cast ball behind table and chairs.
Dog in there me pretending it's winning lol. Hours of fun for it.
So in this dream it happened very quickly because the message was loud and clear and obvious one minute I was very excited thinking wow I'm hooked onto a world record tench over 40 lbs.
Except its body was covered by the curtain. Next moment all of that is gone and we used to have an advert in England for Andrex loo rolls and they used a Labrador puppy golden retriever style.
Cute thing. It became known as the Andrex puppy.
So in my dream suddenly there is no fishing rod no nothing still in the same room but there is an Andrex puppy in front of me.
Basically I never went fishing again after that day because that was my higher self just saying to me come on use your head man just because the fish's pain, suffering, fear and trauma is entirely imperceptible to you that not make it acceptable to inflict that's unnecessary level of abuse on one of nature's living creatures.
In my mind there is no way I will accept "ahh they don't feel it".
I do eat meat and fish it would be practically impossible for me to suffice without those foods on such a restricted diet already they are vital with the whole allergy complexities but that is legalised animal cruelty.
I mean just imagine an alternate universe where instead of a fishing license I could pay the government £57 annually for the legal right to cast a hamburger over my back fence (We had a fence then we have a wall and school now) with a shark rod and catch myself a stray Rottweiler.
Ethics would come into that in this world because the thing would be kicking and screaming like mad I imagine and it's distress would be so obvious the Angler would not be able to take enjoyment in its temporary retrieval from the wild.
There would be blood everywhere you may even need to call a vet.
So many times small fish swallow the hook meant for larger fish and it rip their guts out with a disgorger the only way to remove the hook they are then tossed back into the water 90% dead upside down it's collateral damage but they don't feel it they would tell themselves (despite knowing better).
Then there was another tale a 12 lb mirror carp near my cousins area on a busy public private fee fishing pond.
Basically it was the biggest fish in that heavily stocked pond it was 12 lb in weight and when it was finally caught one time 11 hooks were removed from its mouth which had previously been broken from a line in a fight.
All the thing is trying to do is safely nibble a bit of sweetcorn these fish get incredibly cautious and spooked like hell anglers have to outsmart them with all sorts of tricks and they do forever catching them with hooks suddenly ripping into their mouth or girls or stomachs or fins if they get wrong hooked.
Then it's dragged against all their might and will until they are exhausted and removed from the water like imagine going to eat your sandwich one day and suddenly you like "what the fuck?" and somebody's reeling you into the lake basically me and you are lucky to get back to your family and friends later on.
I mean yes we do eat fish and meat but still that is considered necessary to a degree it's still being debated anyway.
But again this is still unnecessary torture and abuse of a natural conscious living animal we just accept it because it's easy unlike the Rottweiler where the pleasure would be outweighed by the obvious immorality and cruelty of it all.
The other thing about the Rottweiler just imagine I have seen one running outside in the road so I quickly grabbed my shark rod and bacon sandwich throw it out of the top bedroom window hook the thing beat it in battle with my 80 lbtest fishing line and dope Shumani reel and body strap.
I get it to the front of the house but then my mum has to go down and open the front door and safely and hook and release the animal.
Because this is very common practice with fishing having another assist you to "land" a fish on the bank they call it.
Now I don't think my mum would be happy about that for a start. So where do we draw the line could we go out catching squirrels or kangaroos because we have paid a license and just drag them in if we can if they die in the process it's fine nobody's committed a crime we're not really allowed to take them home and eat them but all of the Polish immigrants who visited our town basically did do that and emptied the rivers out quite some years ago now...
It can only be a species whose pain is imperceptible but it must be fun and exciting game at the same time ants don't quite make the cut there but they would probably be good if they had different varieties and were about 500 times the size.
So basically I have to go by the same principle there is no way I can except personally that just because an ant appears so uninterested in deviating from its natural primitive course in automatic mode, exploring it's consciousness. Maybe one day watching a live Manchester United game from the terraces.
That's it does not feel pain or suffer I don't actually think they will be suffering anywhere near on the same level as different types of animals or humans because there is a different scale of mental and emotional trauma but I do believe that these creatures have a sense of life and consciousness and a sense of fear and feel pain because that is the way of life in this reality otherwise why do they exercise caution at all it's the sense of danger which keeps us alive.
No LSD exactly 5 days now. But I also jammed the small of my back & diaphragm with both locked in spasm, inhibiting digestion, wind, bowels, nausea and rotten.
Nasty bliw I dealt myself there. Rib breaks in back. Should have been lot worse. Not hitting head at all, some kind of fluke too. Missing bath handrail.
Can barely sleep still little here there. Been needing lots drugs for time pass and pain. Hence above lol! Phew what a 9 days.
