--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To restate an old law - when a man bites…" description: "\"To restate an old law - when a man bites a fish, that's good, but when a fish bites a man, that's bad. This is one way of saying it's all right if man ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/jacques-yves-cousteau-9353_animal_to-restate-an-old-law-when-a-man-bites-a_1235898.jpg" --- # To restate an old law - when a man bites a fish, that's… ![“To restate an old law - when a man bites a fish, that's good, but when a fish bites a man, that's bad. This is one way of saying it's all right if man kills an animal, but if an animal attacks man, the act is reprehensible.” quote by Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/jacques-yves-cousteau-9353_animal_to-restate-an-old-law-when-a-man-bites-a_1235898.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/jacques-yves-cousteau-9353_animal_to-restate-an-old-law-when-a-man-bites-a_1235898.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/jacques-yves-cousteau-9353_animal_to-restate-an-old-law-when-a-man-bites-a_1235898.jpg) > “To restate an old law - when a man bites a fish, that's good, but when a fish bites a man, that's bad. This is one way of saying it's all right if man kills an animal, but if an animal attacks man, the act is reprehensible.” [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The saying illustrates a double standard: killing animals for food is accepted, yet being attacked by an animal is condemned, exposing moral inconsistency. **In simple terms:** Killing animals for food is okay, but being attacked by one is seen as wrong. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge inconsistent moral judgments. Themes ethics human‑animal relations double standards law morality Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - hunting - self‑defense - animal rights activism - legal cases - cultural practices Key Concepts anthropocentrism speciesism ethical relativism Questions to Reflect On - When is killing an animal justified? - Do we treat all animal interactions equally? A Different Perspective The analogy oversimplifies complex ethical contexts and may ignore self‑preservation rights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [“To restate an old law - when a man bites a fish, that's good, but when a fish bites a man, that's bad. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau-2/to-restate-an-old-law-when-a-man-bites-a-fish-that-s-good-but-when-a-2/) [Jacques-Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau-2/) > [When a dog bites a man that is not news, but when a man bites a dog that is news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-dana/when-a-dog-bites-a-man-that-is-not-news-but-when-a-man-bites-a-dog/) [Charles A. Dana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-dana/) > [The other thing is, visibility is often not very good in fresh water. 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It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To restate an old law - when a man bites a fish, that's good, but when a fish bites a man, that's bad. 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