Starting on Saturday June 13th, 2015 the Scadding Court Community Centre in Toronto will be pouring 1,500 rainbow trout fish into their swimming pool for their annual Gone Fishin' event.

This cruel event takes fish out of their natural environment and exposes them to fear, ultimately to be injured on hooks and killed. This event supposedly takes place to offer the experience of fishing to urban kids.

There are many ways that children can learn about animals and nature. If the Scadding Court Community Centre is so concerned about teaching ecology, an alternative would be to fund field trips into the great outdoors, or educate children about the wonders of fish in their own environment, NOT in a swimming pool.

Please join concerned citizens and say no to this cruel event!

Fish don’t audibly scream when they’re impaled on hooks or grimace when the hooks are ripped from their mouths, but their behavior offers evidence of their suffering—if we are willing to look.

Neurobiologists have long recognized that fish have nervous systems that comprehend and respond to pain. Fish (like “higher vertebrates”) have neurotransmitters such as endorphins that relieve suffering—the only reason for their nervous systems to produce these painkillers is to alleviate pain. Researchers have created a detailed map of more than 20 pain receptors, or “nociceptors,” in fish’s mouths and heads—including those very areas where an angler’s barbed hook would penetrate a fish’s flesh.

Researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada concluded that fish feel fear when they’re chased and that their behavior is more than simply a reflex. The “fish are frightened and … they prefer not being frightened,” said Dr. Duncan, who headed the study.

To learn more about the cruelty of fishing, click here.