MYTH: Fish don’t feel and so don’t suffer in industrial fishing. FACT: Fish are sentient animals who deserve to live free from pain and fear and should be protected, but minimal protections and knowledge contribute to their cruel exploitation.
A Porcupine Fish (The Ocean Agency/Adobe Stock)
A recent presentation for the “Animal Matters” series through Tufts
Center for Animals and Public Policy tackled the topic of fish and
their overwhelming classification by society as “commodities” —
rather than individual, sentient beings — and whether the future
could hold a more compassionate shift in perspective.
The U.S. Animal Kill Clock, which tracks the number of animals
slaughtered for people’s food, estimates that more than 3.7 trillion
fish and 43 trillion shellfish are killed each year in the United
States.
Jennifer Jacquet, a professor of environmental science and policy
affiliated faculty with the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and
Policy, noted in her Tufts’ talk titled “Fish Are Not Natural
Resources” that people’s perceptions about fish, as well limited
scientific data published about their sentience, are key factors
that need to change.
Jacquet noted that fish endure conditions uncommon to many other
wild animals, such as being used as commercial “feed” for other
farmed aquatic animals or having their oils worked into supplements
for people.
Because so little has been investigated or published about fish
sentience, fish and other aquatic species have minimal – if any —
welfare protections while they are being farmed or captured from the
wild. That limited knowledge also has led to some dangerous
misperceptions that society typically uses to justify the existing
mass killings under atrocious conditions.
Here are some highlights from the talk about what you should know
about fish in today’s world, as well as some recommended actions you
can take to help them.
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