I won’t say I’m anti-sport-fishing, and I’m definitely not anti-food-fishing (as long as it’s environmentally sustainable), but I do feel uneasy when I hear people say fish don’t feel pain.
I’ve heard the argument that fish have fewer pain receptors around their mouths, which, if true, may fully disqualify fishing as cruel. However, in my opinion, eliminating physical pain from an action does not qualify that action as humane. Mental and emotional distress should also be considered when determining the humanity of an action.
For example, we differentiate between physical abuse and emotional abuse. We agree that someone doesn’t have to hit and kick you to hurt you. Calling you degrading names and threatening you hurts just as much or more.
Similarly, causing an animal emotional distress “hurts” it just as much as causing it physical harm. Most animals experience emotional distress when they realize the threat of imminent pain or death.
Therefore, when you reel a fish in on a line, and the fish struggles to escape you, or when the fish gasps for oxygen on the bottom of your boat, you cause it emotional and mental distress. On some level, the fish knows it is being harmed or is about to be harmed and, suffers.
Now, whether the fish is intelligent enough for this to matter is a different story. The fish’s knowledge or awareness may be entirely instinctive - I’m not explaining myself correctly, but I mean that it may be just as silly to weep over a fish’s pain as to cry when we accidentally step on an ant. However, we must judge the validity of another living creature’s pain with caution. Descartes used to argue that dogs did not feel pain, and were nothing more than elaborate clockworks. This kind of thinking justified his vivisections, in which he dissected animals while they were still alive, generally without anesthesia (as far as I know, he never used any sort of anesthesia in his vivisections - but let me know if I’m wrong). Today, most people would be appalled at the argument that dog’s don’t feel pain - especially if you own a dog.
So will we one day look back at our treatment of fish and regret our heartless actions? I honestly doubt it. But I do think we should seriously consider it.
- MJ Schindler, aka Kitty Mowmow
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