I understand, though, why pleasure or match anglers in particular have a negative view of pike.
However, bear in mind that they don’t kill for the sake of it and when they do, the chances are they pick off the weaker fish.
I know from experience that some anglers will throw pike into the undergrowth if they happen to catch them.
I even saw one nailed to a tree once.
The last thing you should be doing, if you are an angler, is persecuting pike.