About this website
The purpose of this website is to provide information/news about Veganism and animal abuse/welfare/rights. It is hoped this information will be used for research and prompt a consideration of why Veganism is so important, particularly at this time. While Veganism is concerned with diet and the environment, it must always be animal-centered. Veganism, which is not animal-centered, is not Veganism...
"Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."
(Vegan Society)
The Future is Vegan...
The Fish Industry
Engin Akyurt (unsplash.com)
"Although fish are now widely recognised as sentient beings, production is still being quantified by mass, rather than numbers of individual animals slaughtered as with farmed mammals and birds. Global farmed fish production has increased hugely, from 9 million tonnes in 1990 to 56 million tonnes in 2019. Using this data, authors of the study calculated individual figures from estimates of individual weights at slaughter. The study reveals that since 1990, the number of farmed fish killed annually for food have increased 9-fold, to a staggering 78-171 billion (estimate midpoint 124 billion) in 2019. However, the actual figure is likely to be higher still, as it does not represent the total number farmed due to mortalities during rearing.
These estimates indicate that farmed fish – the majority of which are produced in Asia – are now likely to outnumber the 80 billion farmed birds and mammals killed globally each year for food. Inhumane slaughter practices cause immense suffering for farmed fish. Yet, despite being sentient – capable of feeling pain and experiencing a range of emotions – less than 1% of fish have any species-specific legal protection at slaughter. In practice, most suffer long and agonising deaths."
Source and full article: CIWF. 'The scale of fish farming exposed'.
"All animals possessing a nervous system and pain receptors are capable of suffering the effects of pain. This includes fish. Fish feel pain out of biological necessity, just as mammals do. Without the ability to feel pain, they would not survive. Much research has been done over the past thirty years and there is now scientific consensus recognising that fish and other sea creatures are sentient. For example...
In tests at Oxford University, Mexican cave fish – genetically blind – built a mental map of their surroundings by memorising the position of objects in their tank. They quickly reacted to changes in the set-up. This task defeats some small mammals.
At the University of Edinburgh, spotted rainbowfish remembered how to escape from a net in their tank 11 months after initially working it out...
And yet, crabs, lobsters and prawns are often boiled alive, and many seafood suppliers rip off the legs or abdomens of live animals to sell. And on shrimp farms, the females have their eyestalks removed, as this mutilation induces the maturation of the ovaries. Scientists have said the procedure is ‘cruel’ and ‘traumatic’.
When hauled up from the deep ocean, wild caught fish undergo excruciating decompression. Frequently, the intense internal pressure ruptures the swimbladder, pops out the eyes, and pushes the oesophagus and stomach out through the mouth. Most fish are gutted whilst still alive or are left to suffocate. The whole process is totally ungoverned by humane protocols, let alone laws, and – in terms of numbers of victims – is the greatest animal welfare scandal of our times.
Farmed fish may be killed by having their gill arches torn or cut so that they bleed to death, often without being stunned first. For some fish (for example, sea bass and bream) death is by asphyxiation. They are removed from water, which causes their gills to collapse, and they suffocate to death.
Dr Donald Broom, Professor of Animal Welfare at Cambridge University, stated: ‘The scientific literature is quite clear. Anatomically, physiologically and biologically, the pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals…in animal welfare terms, you have to put fishing in the same category as hunting'."
Source and full article: Animal Aid. 'The fishing industry: Fish feel pain'.
3 facts that will change your mind about fish farming.
Animal Equality: Our work to help fish.
Aquaculture: the painful truth beneath the surface.
Aquafarming.
Factory fish farming: what it is and why it's cruel.
Fish and sea animals.
Fish farming.
Fish farming: harming oceans while poisoning people and the environment.
Fish farms: what is fish farming and why is it bad?
Horrific cruelty of underwater factory farms.
Murky depths of the Scottish salmon industry exposed in new undercover investigation.
Scotland’s salmon producers.
The deadly fish industry.
The problems with fishing and fish farming.
The scale of fish farming exposed.
What is fish farming, is it cruel and what can you do?
What's wrong with fish farms?
The following are newspaper articles dealing with fish farming:
Vox (02/03/2021), Guardian (02/04/2021) Guardian (03/09/2021), abc.net (24/05/2022), and Independent (25/02/2023).
Videos
Animal Outlook exposes cruelty on fish factory farm.
Fish farming's cruel secret.
Fish killed while fully conscious in Scottish salmon slaughterhouse.
Investigation reveals abuse of sensitive, intelligent fish at American farms.
It's time to look at the cruel fishing industry.
Undercover footage reveals 'cruel' factory fish farm.
What fish feel when they are killed for food.
