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STUDY: Europeans Poor Attitudes Toward Fish Welfare

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Given the scale and depth of their suffering, and the lack of attention their welfare has received, it is time for animal advocates to fight harder for fishes.

ANTONIA SHANN: While the animal movement has had a great deal of success in campaigning for chicken welfare, there’s concern among many advocates that campaigning on behalf of fishes will require a different strategy. Fishes are more distant from us on the evolutionary tree, and we tend to empathize with them less than with other animals we eat. In light of this, winning public support for fish welfare may be difficult… In the post, the author reviewed six European surveys in-depth, and briefly discussed five others that may be less representative…

A 2005 study, from the Netherlands, compared attitudes toward fishes to those toward pigs specifically. Respondents believed fishes to be less likely to feel negative emotions (pain, boredom, fear, stress), but slightly more likely to feel pleasure. Around a third of respondents stated that they didn’t know. Broadly, this survey suggested that people care more and are more knowledgeable about welfare for pigs than for fishes.

The 2010 survey from Finland found that almost half of respondents believed welfare for farmed fishes was “fairly” or “very” good. When asked about the cognitive abilities of different animals – including various farmed, companion, and wild animals – respondents estimated salmon and shrimp to be significantly lower than other animals…

We kill fishes in astronomical numbers, tearing them from the ocean or raising them for slaughter in farms. Welfare standards for fishes are shockingly poor, even compared to other animals we eat. As this analysis suggests, campaigns for their protection may gather momentum more readily than we expect. Given the scale of their suffering, the lack of attention their welfare has received, and the chances that public opinion would support us, it’s time for animal advocates to fight harder for fishes. SOURCE…

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