I know this is a pretty old thread, recently resurrected, but as an angler, I feel the need to - if you’ll forgive the pun - wade in here. What happened to the dog is absolutely unforgivable. Someone upthread said “anglers are just hobbyists who don’t give a s**t”. Please don’t tar all anglers with the same brush. Sport and leisure angling is a multimillion pound industry and the people who spend good money on it are careful and responsible anglers. They love and value the environment they pursue their sport in, and value the kit they use which is specialised and costly these days. Licences and fishing permits are expensive (the Environment agency would lose a hell of a lot of revenue if people suddenly gave up fishing). I can spend anything up to thirty pounds for a day’s fly fishing, in addition to the cost of the licence. Fly by night anglers don’t want to spend that kind of money and they are the ones who don’t give a s**t. They are in the minority. I can’t speak for beach anglers or boat fishermen as beach and sea angling is not regulated and does not require a licence or a permit. Anyone can do it anywhere with stuff they buy in a seaside tackle shop on a day out. It’s cheap, so they may well just leave it behind.
