Do Worms Have Feelings?

[Merika]

I don't know HOW I missed this important article....hahaha!]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...orway_worms_dc
Worms on a Hook Don't Suffer?

Mon Feb 7, 9:37 AM ET

OSLO (Reuters) - Worms squirming on a fishhook feel no pain -- nor do lobsters and crabs cooked in boiling water, a scientific study funded by the Norwegian government has found.

"The common earthworm has a very simple nervous system -- it can be cut in two and continue with its business," Professor Wenche Farstad, who chaired the panel that drew up the report, said Monday.

Norway might have considered banning the use of live worms as fish bait if the study had found they felt pain, but Farstad said "It seems to be only reflex curling when put on the hook ... They might sense something, but it is not painful and does not compromise their well-being."

The government called for the study on pain, discomfort and stress in invertebrates to help in the planned revision of Norway's animal protection law. Invertebrates cover a range of creatures from insects and spiders to mollusks and crustaceans.

Farstad said most invertebrates, including lobsters and crabs boiled alive, do not feel pain because, unlike mammals, they do not have a big brain to read the signals.

Some more advanced kinds of insects, such as honeybees which display social behavior and a capacity to learn and cooperate, deserve special care, she said.

"We have particular responsibility for animals that we have in our custody. That is not a scientific opinion, but the ethical side of the issue," Farstad said.

[RandomSkater]

Norway might have considered banning the use of live worms as fish bait if the study had found they felt pain

wow, and i thought humane society people here were bad about animals...

That reminds me of a german person I know (ex-exchange student) who, while fishing here one time, said that in germany it's considerd harmful to put fish on stringers, so they just bash them with a log or something hard to break their spine.

Intersting read. :wink:

[Duke]

Maybe the hook doesn't harm their well being but I'm sure being dragged underwater and chewed up by a fish prolly doesn't feel too good.

[Merika]

Originally Posted by Duke

Maybe the hook doesn't harm their well being but I'm sure being dragged underwater and chewed up by a fish prolly doesn't feel too good.

But...who cares?

[RandomSkater]

I want a shirt that says "Worms have feeling too." on the back..that'd be cool. then you could like have a worm on a fish hook...like the one from finding nemo!

[Merika]

HAHA Random.....I like Mickey Mouse too....but I don't want him in my laundry/pantry room.

[Duke]

Originally Posted by Merika

But...who cares?

You would if you came back as a worm. Oh the irony if you get re-incarnated as a worm on a good looking, sailors hook.

[Merika]

That would just about be my luck! LOL!

[Luba]

I just CANNOT put a worm on a hook; I can't stand all that squirming....from the worm, either!