"Anglers feel instinctively that their sport is not cruel. This book explains why their instincts are right - and exposes the confused philosophy of their accusers." The anti-fieldsports lobby has led the debate on hunting, fishing and shooting for the last decade. Hook, Line and Thinker is a book which turns the tables on the "antis" and takes a fresh look at the assumptions which many now accept as facts. * What is mean"t by cruelty? * How do you measure pain? * Who says man is an animal, and that all animals are equal? * Is man a fish without scales, or is he something different? * If catching and releasing a fish is cruel, then how cruel is eating one? * When fieldsports have been banned, will we be asked to become vegetarians too? * Where does religion fit in with fieldsports? * How can one justify keeping a pet cat, which tortures before it kills? Here is a book which tackles these issues from the philosophical viewpoint. It examines the ethics of the anti-fieldsports lobby and takes their arguments back to their roots. The conclusions expose the precarious philosophical ground of the anti-fieldsports lobby. It is they who should be on the run."