03/27/20 Fish breeding - crammed in cages and dying in agony
Animal Friends appeal to end the fish breeding and fishing and to protect the oceans and marine ecosystems
- 28th of March: World Day for the End of Fishing calls for an end of fishing at the global level
In Switzerland, in 2017, the PEA - Pour l'Égalité Animale launched an international campaign called "World Day for the End of Fishing - WoDEF" aimed at raising the awareness of the life of marine animals, both in public and in other animal welfare and conservation organizations. Fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods are at the heart of WoDEF's concern as they account for the largest proportion of animals killed by humans, with an estimated annual number of thousands of billions of victims. Therefore, Animal Friends call everyone to celebrate World Day for the End of Fishing on the 28th of March and call for the abolition of fishing and fish farming around the world.
Essere Animali, an Italian organization that researches the conditions in which farmed animals are bred, held and slaughtered, was the first in Europe to document of intensive fish farming. The organization's investigation team broke into large bass and trout farms that supply major Italian supermarkets. Breeding scenes depict thousands of fish being forced to live in cages, in conditions of overcrowding and deprivation. Transporting and treating fish as objects is a daily practice. Death occurs after a long and unsuccessful struggle for life and the immense suffering and pain they are exposed to. The European Union has confirmed that it will take concrete steps to address this problem.
Science has long confirmed the ability of fish to experience pain and emotions. Studies have shown that fish recognize other fish of the same breed, learn in certain ways, create a mental image of the path they go, adapt behavior to the situation they are in, and that some fish even use a variety of tools to make their daily lives easier. Also, fish show affection, rubbing gently against each other, and grieve when their friends die. Scientists argue that the physiology of the nervous system and the behavior of fish are altered by harmful and unpleasant stimuli. This means that not only can fish be stressed and in fear, but such frustrating reactions adversely affect their immune systems, which in turn means that they are less resistant to disease.
Fish, just like humans, have their own meaning of life that makes their lives as important as ours. They need food, shelter, intimacy, safety, and care for themselves and their offspring. Fish are social and sentient beings that play an important role in the marine ecosystem. Scientists conducted a study in which fish with mouth pain, who couldn't eat, was given painkillers and they started eating again. By responding to painkillers, fish have been shown to have receptors in the brain similar to the receptors that the same drugs bind to in humans.
There are no limits to the exploitation of fish. We breed them for food, use them in biological and medical research, justify hunting them through sports and entertainment, capture them as pets, and use them as ornaments in small aquariums. It is a worrying fact that 2,500 billion fish are killed annually worldwide and that there will be no fish by 2050 if we continue to catch and kill them at this rate. 90 percent of large fish populations have been exterminated in the last 50 years. It is a frightening fact that because of their unreasonable, unethical and selfish behavior, humans cause the death of 20 times more fish per year than the total number of people who have ever walked on this planet.
Greed and recklessness are the reasons for the destruction, exploitation, extermination, exhaustion, enslaving and killing of fish and other animals in the sea. Scientists have discovered that nearly 1,000 marine mammals, but also sharks, sea turtles, and birds die every day after being caught in fishing nets. The suffering of millions of fish cannot go unnoticed and rescue measures are urgently needed. "The importance of fish and other marine organisms is invaluable for the survival of all species, human and non-human, on the planet, and we are all responsible and obliged to contribute to improving the current situation with marine animals," said Animal Friends.
An educational animated three-film series of 30 seconds each, as part of the "Respect Our Sea" project, free to use and distribute, and information on how to help the fish and the application form for the Vegan Challenge are at www.veganopolis.net.