A very good question. The book releases in the U.S. April 17, click on the image to pre-order it from Amazon.com
Until now, people have considered fish to be on the lowest end of our food chain, and because of that they are fished with surprising cruelty. Perhaps because of their aquatic environment and lack of warm blood and fur, the human theory has generally been that fish are not as clever as mammals, they have no memories and they don’t feel pain. Victoria Braithwaite, professor of fisheries and biology at Pennsylvania State University has written a new book titled: “Do Fish Feel Pain?” and finds that, basically, yes, they do. In 2003 Braithwaite herself determined that fish indeed feel pain and discomfort, and other studies have proved that even goldfish can have good memories, and male cichlids are known to observe fighting patterns in a future rival before taking him on. They have much in common with other vertebrates, including humans, why should we still think of them as plants? This will surely get the fishing enthusiasts up in arms, I can’t wait to see what happens.
Source: Daily Mail
Do Fish Feel Pain? published by Oxford University Press, releases March 25 in the U.K. and April 19 in the U.S.
