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why vegan- for the animals
fish
While it may seem obvious that fish, like every other animal, are able to feel pain, some people still think of them as swimming vegetables. In fact, fish are as capable of feeling pain as dogs, cats, and all other animals. Dr. Donald Broom, scientific advisor to the British government, explains, "The scientific literature is quite clear. Anatomically, physiologically and biologically, the pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals."
Fish farming, or “aquaculture,” has become a billion-dollar industry, and more than 30 percent of all the sea animals consumed each year are now raised on these “farms.” Fish on aquafarms spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy enclosures, and many suffer from parasitic infections, diseases, and debilitating injuries.
Because not all the feed is eaten by the farmed fish, a great deal of feed can reach the bottom where it is eaten or decomposed by microorganisms. This alteration of the natural food web structure can significantly impact the local environment. Conditions on some farms are so horrendous that 40 percent of the fish may die before farmers can kill and package them for human consumption.
In short, fish farms bring suffering and ecological devastation everywhere they go.
Traditional fishing is no better. Today’s commercial fishers use massive ships the size of football fields and advanced electronic equipment and satellite communications to track fish. These enormous vessels can stay out at sea for as long as six months, storing thousands of tons of fish onboard in massive freezer compartments. Commercial fishers kill hundreds of billions of animals every year—far more than any other industry—and they have decimated our ocean ecosystems. In fact, 90 percent of large fish populations have been exterminated in the past 50 years.