I was watching TV last night...

[ger87410]

I was watching "from Russia with love" last night and one of the scenes shows 2 male bettas fighting to the death. Only since I started fish keeping did I find that scene appalling.

 

[nutter]

I thought the sport was banned, must still be legal in russia!

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

Now you can truly appreciate how evil those Russians are .

seriously though, that scene bothered me a lot too. It annoys me that fish do not ever seem to count as animals that should be protected.

 

[ger87410]

It's a James Bond movie that they put out in the '80s. Maybe it was still legal then.

 

[shrks1fan]

I know of no place where fighting fish is illegal. I know it's not illegal in the US, not sure about the UK.

Linda

 

[bunjiweb]

Fish fighting is illegal in the UK and afaik is now illegal in the US....although if anyone here would actually consider doing it they need mental help.

Ben

 

[nutter]

Agreed ben

 

[HotStuffGal]

Thats sad and quite cruel I don't know why people do it, fish are animals too it is animals Cruelty!

 

[a1wonder]

Now you can truly appreciate how evil those Russians are .

Evil? I do sure hope your joking and your not saying the entire country is like that.

Actually in a lot of countries animal sports involving fighting to the death and cruelty are still accepted as part of traditions. Mexico has bull fishes where the bull over the process of an hours bleeds to death from decorative spears. In Spain cock fights are still common. In china there are still dog fights.
And even in northern north America we have Rodeos, an example where this can be viewed as cruelty is roping young calves which frequent result in broken legs and muscle tears (especial when cow boys and girls are learning the skills).


By the way it is currently illegal in russia but at the time the movie was filmed it was not (most likely at the same time in the usa it was also not illegal because it was produced by an american)

 

[FishDan]

Also, it was a movie. A movie made in 1963. The practice was probably legal then. And I hate to sound patronizing but, not everything you see in movies is real. If a scene in which two fish (I'll admit, it's been years since I saw it, do we even know, for certain, they were real fish?) fight to the death bothers you, you should probably not see a whole lot of other movies. Like ones where people fight to the death. Personally, I think being offended by a 41 year old movie for alleged animal cruelty is on the farther side of ludacris.

\Dan

 

[nutter]

41 years ago, or today. makes no odds to me its still cruel. but if it was a film and not a program it was MAYBE fake

 

[!guppy!]

u muppets...

ITS A MOVIE
HES TRYING TO LOOK HARD
HES A CRIMINAL HE DONT CARE ABOUT LAWS

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


sorry if affensive but come on!

 

[FishDan]

41 years ago, or today. makes no odds to me its still cruel. but if it was a film and not a program it was MAYBE fake

My point was that it is a 41 year old movie and there is no way to acertain if these were real fish or not. Next someone will tell me that because in a different James Bond movie his little jet pack deal was real too. I mean, it was on screen in a movie, it MUST be real. Or MAYBE it was fake, right? Or Jaws. MAYBE the shark was fake too... I could go on and on...

I understand though. All kinds of people get all up in arms about all kinds of things portrayed in movies. Many times they don't realize that it is just a movie. it's pretend, make believe, fiction. It's not real, and as such it is not cruel. It is cruel when people do things. Not when they portray them in a movie.

\Dan

 

[ger87410]

I checked and they were most definitely 2 male bettas in the same tank together with a third betta behind a divider. I am 100% sure that it was real as both fish were flaring at each other before they attacked. They showed the attacks very clearly from multiple angles. Then at the end you could see 1 fish had the other by the mouth and was dragging it down. That's where the scene ended. So I don't know if 1 died, but I'm sure stress killed it later on. Normally nothing I watch on TV bothers me. For some reason that really did. I love to see people die.

EDIT: I think I know more that enough about CI, animatronics, and the such to be able to spot a fake. U cannot fake the movements of a fish during the fight with anything but the newest CI. This was '68, as someone stated. They didn't have CI back then. They had a very basic understanding of animatronics in comparison. They couldn't immitate something that small and that precisely. There is no doubt about it, it was not in any way shape or form fake. I'd stake my reputation against it. If you guys still doubt me, watch the movie or I'll cut that scene out and post it. I don't think anyone else will like it either.

P.S. I'm reading the post more closely now. LOL. U guys are so funny! I never said that I ws affended by it. I just stated that since I started fish keeping it bothered me.

 

[Blusypder]

hrm...........................

41 yr ago it would be kinda hard to make some special effects of betas fighting each other.

it was probley real

LAW SUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 lol not reallly