Let's talk about fish, shall we?
On my road to veganism, fish was the last animal I stopped eating. For some reason, in my mind fishes are not as sensitive as mammals, and did not provoke as much empathy in me as a calf or a lamb for instance. Fishes are cold blooded, and just don’t seem to be much aware of what’s going on.
Fishes have a bad reputation. We’ve invented expressions such as “cold like a fish” or having “fish memory”. We call a stupid person a fish, and many other times we use the name of this poor animal to describe negative attributes in people.
I also used to think that fishes don't suffer as much when they are killed, and that's how I justified my weekly fried fish at the beach on Sundays. It's funny what we're capable of telling ourselves in order to not feel guilty.
Why are we so mean toward fish?
Fish are actually much more intelligent than we give them credit for:
According to Culum Brown from Macquarie University, "Fish are more intelligent than they appear. In many areas, such as memory, their cognitive powers match or exceed those of ‘higher’ vertebrates including non-human primates.”
...A number of studies have shown that fish can retain information for months or years. Anecdotally, channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) can remember the human voice call announcing food five years after last hearing that call. Goldfish remember the colour of a tube dispensing food one year after the last tube presentation….Some common rudd and European chub could remember the person who trained them to feed from the hand, even after a 6-month break….Crimson-spotted rainbowfish can learn how to escape from a trawl by swimming through a small hole in the center and they remember this technique 11 months later….Rainbow trout can be trained to press a bar to get food, and they remember this three months after last seeing the bar..Several fish species are capable of learning complex spatial relationships and forming cognitive maps…
I apologize for the long quoting of Wikipedia, but it is all pretty amazing and I didn’t want to cut off any of this information. The more I read about fishes, the more respect I develop for this animal species.
I remember reading a story about a Japanese scuba diver who formed a friendly bond with a fish. He saved him when the fish was injured and fed him for 10 days, and every since the fish swims toward him and greets the man for 30 years already. You can view their fascinating story here:
Fish can form friendships with humans
Fish may not be furry and as cute as a kitten, but they are able to recognize human faces and ask for affection just like a cat or a dog.
My mother used to have a pond with some goldfish, and every time she approached the pond they would come swimming toward her. On the other hand, whenever I approached, they swam away. This further demonstrates that goldfish were able to recognize her as the person who feeds them, and make the difference between us. This is pretty amazing when you think about it!
Many fish also like to be pet and truly enjoy human touch!
Where am I going with this?
If fish can recognize faces, feel affection and even create relationships or friendships with humans, they can also feel fear and pain.
Please take a look at these fish caught for human consumption below. All you have to do is look into their eyes. It’s impossible to deny that these poor creatures are panicking, the same way a cow or pig does when they are about to be slaughtered.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmcE5eslu2J/?taken-by=thehumaneleague
What I’m trying to convey is that we should not consider fish as a lower class animal. All animals are aware of what is happening to them and are sentient beings. I hope that the story of the Japanese scuba diver made you smile, and that you felt at least a tiny bit sad for the dying fish in the Instagram video above. If I've accomplished at least one of these things, it means that you can feel too and I’m sorry that I just spoiled your next sushi meal (NOT!).
PS: Please don't ever get a fish as a pet. There’s nothing more sad than a fish confined in an aquarium, even if you smother it with affection!
Cheers!
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_intelligence
It’s funny this is how i felt too. Fish was the most difficult thing to give up because i didn’t feel the connection, i think it’s because they aren’t as cute and cuddly as other animals and so there was a disconnect. I mostly gave it up eventually to have a clear cut, ‘I am vegan’ mentality, that way I could say i don’t eat any animal products at all, along with the environmental impact commercial fishing has and along with the other wildlife that is impacted by commercial fishing. Ultimately, however, the more research i do, the more I am confident with my decision not to eat fish and a closer connection i feel to them.
I know a lot of people that went vegan that felt the same as you. I always felt that it wasn’t fair to fish as they are smart as you said later.
As someone who is not vegan at all, I guess I can’t be a hypocrite about it.
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yes it's funny how that works huh? I guess humans are not as close to fish due to their living environment (they basically live in a different universe), but it's worth looking into and learning more about =). Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for this article Eve. I hope that many people will see it. It's so sad to see what is happening to fish. People treat it like a thing, not a living being. They suffer as much as any other animal.
I didn't watch the Instagram video as I can't. I never watch videos about suffering animals as I somehow feel responsible for their destiny. Anyway, I can imagine what is inside :)
Have a lovely day and again, thank you for sharing!
Thanks for reading and I'm glad you liked it =). I can't watch these videos either...seeing the thumbnail was enough for me...
Brilliant topic! I'm always alarmed at the number of people who (knowing full well I am vegan) ask, 'but you can eat fish RIGHT?' as if fish aren't living beings. Sure, we may have less of an emotional connection with them than we do with mammals, I guess because they are so different to us, but to try and argue that they don't feel pain or have feelings if just insane to me!