Fish are the most slaughtered and least protected animals in the world. Essere Animali is calling for greater protection for these creatures of remarkable intelligence.
Fish are animals we commonly know very little about. They are surrounded by an aura of mystery, and faced with the differences that separate us from them, it seems difficult to relate to their nature. And yet, we have more in common with them than we think.
Fish perceive pain in a way that is entirely similar to how mammals, including human beings, experience it. A study from the University of Liverpool published in 2019 confirmed this.
They are also beings of remarkable intelligence. Some tests have confirmed their ability to recognise and remember the (human) hand that feeds them, as well as having an excellent memory for both space and time — known in English as "time-place memory". So, if they are trained to receive food at a specific place and time of day, they will approach that exact spot right on cue.
Some species are also capable of remembering complex routes for nearly 40 days, while others can recognise individual fish they have come into contact with. In 2019, Japanese biologist Masanori Kohda managed to demonstrate that a particular species of fish can recognise itself in a mirror, just like chimpanzees, orangutans, elephants, dolphins and magpies. It had previously been thought that the ability to pass the mirror test required a level of brain development and cognitive capacity unavailable to fish, but Kohda's team proved otherwise: fish, too, possess a sense of self.
Despite the findings of this research being unknown to most people, there appears to be broad consensus in Europe on fish's capacity to experience emotions and feel pain. According to a survey conducted in 2018 by Eurogroup for animals and Ciwf, the largest international non-profit organisation for the welfare and protection of farmed animals, most Europeans believe fish are sentient beings, and 77 per cent of Italians say that fish can feel pain.
More than 95 per cent of Italians stated that living in clean, uncontaminated water, being healthy and being able to exhibit natural behaviours for their species are the most important elements of fish welfare. Conversely, living in dirty water and in overcrowded conditions, or being slaughtered without stunning, are the factors with the greatest impact on their welfare.
Four out of five Italians also believe that these animals should be protected as much as pigs, chickens, cows and sheep.
The reality inside intensive fish farms is very different from what consumers would hope for. First of all, land-based tanks or sea cages are bare environments, characterised by high fish densities and therefore poor water quality. These conditions do nothing but encourage the spread of viruses, bacteria and parasites, which is why the administration of antibiotics is widespread — with all that this entails in terms of health and environmental impact.
As regards stunning and slaughter, the EU legislation governing fish welfare during these stages does not specify which procedures are appropriate, either for fish as a category or, still less, for individual species. This means that the most widely used stunning methods are inadequate and needlessly painful for the animals.
To give one example, fish are very often simply removed from the water and left to suffocate in air without stunning. In this way they die after a long and slow agony. In other cases they are plunged, still alive and conscious, into a slurry of water and ice: here too, death occurs through asphyxiation and is extremely painful.
Fish are the most slaughtered animals, yet also the least protected in the world. It is estimated that by 2030, to meet growing demand, 60 per cent of the fish consumed will come from fish farms. As the share of intensively farmed fish grows, it will also be necessary to impose management standards that are appropriate to their nature and reduce their suffering.
Since 2018, Essere Animali has been running the #AncheiPesci campaign to push large-scale retailers to adopt farming policies that minimise the suffering of fish reared in their supply chains. More than 80 per cent of seafood purchases take place through retail channels, so this is where change must begin. That is why every citizen can call on large-scale retailers — by signing a petition — to require their supplier farms to adopt policies that put an end to the agony of these sentient beings.
Even if silent, their suffering cannot go unheard.