Scientists say fish feel pain. It could lead to major changes in the fishing industry

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Scientists say fish feel pain. It could lead to major changes in the fishing industry (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2018/05/24/scientists-say-fish-feel-pain-it-could-lead-to-major-changes-in-the-fishing-industry/?utm_term=.a9cbf1d3c062)

[angelcraze2]

I couldn't read the whole thing, it bothers me too much, but I skimmed the article and skipped some things. What gets me is how anyone can think fish can't feel pain. Or recognize positive and negative emotions. If you've kept fish, you know when they are in distress and they will often hide their problems from you it seems (to me). I've seen happy excited fish eating a particular yummy treat, I've seen fish not feeling well pouting in the corners. That statement that fish were put here for a reason (and that they would not feel pain) is completely rediculous to me.

[BluewaterBoof]

Pain is a funny thing. I had a stoke 8 years ago following a neck injury that I sustained from a snowboarding accident. Although I regained pretty much all of my motor skills due to being young and obsessively working to rehabilitate myself in the months that followed, the biggest impact that has persisted was my ability to feel pain and temperature across the entire left side of my body.

For the first few years after the stoke, I could not feel any pain or temperature variations. Do not confuse this with numbness. I could feel the gentlest touch, the slightest breeze, the texture of my jeans. Everything felt normal, except for pain and temperature sensations. You could take a knife and run it down my arm and it would feel like something dull and smooth was touching me. I would pick up food from the microwave and not realize I was burning my skin. You could poke me with something sharp and it would feel like you were pressing a pencil eraser up to my skin. I cannot tell you how absolutely odd it feels to step into a hot shower or bath and only feel the warmth of the water on one side of your body, or the frustration of trying to scratch an itch and getting no satisfaction despite scratching so hard that it leaves welts on your arm. Other oddities were not needing to wear a jacket during the winter, and the still-maddening way only half my face sweats when I'm working out.

My point is, despite the total lack of ability to feel pain, heat, or cold, that did not impact my ability to still feel ill or uncomfortable, experience emotions, or touch/feel objects and react to them. The neuro-biologists who have stated that fish do not have the facilities to feel pain aren't saying they are numb and senseless creatures. They're just saying that they lack the proper type of nervous system for their brains to register what we call pain.

You injure a dog and it will yelp and limp around in response until shock kicks in. You can break an animal's leg and it will writhe around in agony. You tear a hole into the side of a fish and it will initially dart away, but then goes back to just doing its normal routine of swimming/floating around, oblivious to the massive injury it has sustained.

Not saying one side is right or wrong. Just putting out my own thoughts after seeing Kat's comment about how she doesn't really get how some folks think fish can't feel pain. I probably would have been right there with you, if it hadn't been for my own experiences with pain and the lack of it.

[bpete]

You know this is a tough one for me, being a fisherman and all. Don't get me wrong or anything because I do not believe in an animal suffering needlessly. I have heard the argument on both sides of the issue. I have always believed that fish or some other classes of creatures do not feel pain in the same way we think of it. There is no doubt in my mind though that they definitely can suffer. This makes me feel that all living forms should be treated with respect wether you are a farmer, fisherman or hunter. This is my opinion and I will not try and step on the toes of others who feel differently.