Opinions diverge, some scientists say that fish do not feel pain, while others are convinced of the opposite!
Scientists have shown that fish react to pain
These researchers in Edinburgh have discovered that rainbow trout have 58 receptors on their heads that react to chemical and electrical stimuli. Thus, when acid is injected into their lips, they shake their heads and then rub their mouths on the gravel to relieve themselves. Another study has just proven that scampi and crayfish suffer from stress just like humans! When placed in a labyrinth, researchers found that the brain of these crustaceans secreted a high level of serotonin a substance produced by the brain in a stressful situation. For Culum Brown, from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, it would be quite impossible for marine creatures to “survive in their hostile environment if they were insensitive to pain.”
Other scientists convinced that fish do not suffer
Researchers in Wisconsin, Midwest state of the United States, are convinced that fish can not suffer because they do not have any nervous system. For them, when a fish is struggling at the end of a hook, it is not proof that it suffers, it is only a defense reflex ! They recognize that they possess a few sensory receptors, but in insufficient number to feel any pain! They even point out that when a harpooned fish is released, it immediately regains its former vitality.
When everyone agrees that aquatic creatures suffer as we do, our gaze on them will change. But perhaps it will then be too late!
