In Victoria Braithwaite's article, "Hooked on a Myth" she insists that fish are capable of feeling pain. By the end of her article she is curious to know why it has taken so long for people to question whether fish feel pain or not. I feel like majority of people need an animal to be a certain size or to be human-like before they feel bad for whatever it's going through. I think a lot of people assume that since an organism is so small or because it doesn't make noise then it automatically doesn't have a brain developed enough to have emotions. That's how many people see the fish that is being sold in grocery stores. If people watched a video about how the fish in our local grocery stores are killed and brought to us I think many people wouldn't feel as remorseful about it as they would if the video showed sharks getting killed. Personally, I agree with Braithwaite in some ways, for example, when she questions where we draw the line. I don't know exactly what the criteria is for people to think it's okay to kill one type of animal and then think it's completely unethical to kill a different one. There are some things that I don't agree with Braithwaite on though, for example, how she thinks these things should be researched to find out if fish feel pain. I don't think it will make a difference if people found out they did. I don't believe that would lead to people eating less fish or signing petitions to get fishermen to treat fish better. I'm not even sure how a person would even be able to go about killing fish in a different way. Even if there is no difference between the way a fish is treated and the way a chicken is treated, I can't help, but feel worse for the chicken. Maybe because it can walk, make noise, and if it were to get hurt, I would be able to hear it. I almost feel like fish are probably looked at the way bugs are. Most people don't think about how many ants or other bugs they kill in a day just by walking around because they're small and can't be heard, the same way most people don't think about how the tuna in their sandwiches died.
I completely agree with you. Because we cannot hear or visually see the fish being in pain, we do not think much of it. Also, I higly doubt anything would be done to change how we treat fish even if we did find evidence that they suffer.
ReplyDeleteIn reading this article I felt the same way. I feel that only the time us humans value other species is when we have more of an understanding of their feelings; as dogs and cats can express them, while animals such as fish cannot. I feel that there is kind of a double standard when it comes to how animals feel when they are killed. Although I don't think that this action is right, I don't think the way we go about killing fish will change, and we will just have to live with it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you talk about the reason why people feel the way they do toward fish. Humans don't believe fish have emotions because they're so tiny and can't be heard, but we all know, they do have emotions just like every other animal. But I too doubt people are going to change the way fish are killed, and their feelings toward fish.
ReplyDeleteI think it's wrong for humans to assume that fish can't feel pain or totally undermined the fact that they suffer just because they are not vocally responsive, but knowing for a fact that fish do feel pain won't make a difference. I think that no matter what others say, at the end of the day no one is going to care whether a fish can feel pain or not. It's wrong but that's just the cruel harsh reality.
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point. I never considered that the size of an animal affects hows we treat them. I also agree with you because I don't see how there can be another way to kill fish. It is inevitable that no matter how you kill these creatures it will cause them pain, which also goes for every being on this earth. I don't see the point in wasting money by putting time and research into other ways to avoid fish from feeling too much pain. Plus, I highly doubt that many people who read this article would actually do something about how fish are being treated and killed today.
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