Windsor man who clubbed fish shamed, 'harassed' online
'Was it wrong? Maybe it was,' says man whose act was captured on video
Edmond Parent, a Windsor, Ont., man who was caught on video illegally clubbing a fish and tossing it back into the water, says online shaming has dogged him since the video was posted online last fall.
Another fisherman captured the act on camera, and then confronted Parent about his decision to club the muskie. The video was posted on YouTube and has garnered more than 300,000 views.
"It had no chance at living, I did the fish a favour by what I did," Parent told CBC's Havard Gould. "Was it wrong? Maybe it was."
"I killed a fish so I deserve to be killed, or I deserve to be harassed?"
Parent has lots of company – in Toronto, a man sparked online furor after he was caught on video responding rudely to a woman who wanted him to move his bag off a seat on a city bus.
Public relations executive Justine Sacco was canned and faced a huge online backlash after making a remark on Twitter, saying: "Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!"
Parent, who has seen some of the online comments about him, was fined $1,000 earlier this month under the Fisheries Act for failing to release an undersized muskie in a way that would not cause further harm to the fish. He was also banned from fishing for two years.
The angler who filmed the incident and confronted Parent said he's ready to move on.
"I believe he paid his price," said Mike Cowley, "He was convicted, he apologized. It's time to let it go."
With files from CBC's Havard Gould