Categories: News

What does the “fish pain debate” obscure about animal welfare?

Over decades, scientists have spilled a lot of ink over the question of whether or not fish feel pain. What circumstances led to this long-standing inquiry, and what does the seemingly endless debate obscure? In a new article published in Issues in Science and Technology, researchers unpack the history of what they call “the great fish pain debate.” It’s a story that spans from South Africa to West Germany to the United States, and is rooted in an ongoing clash of values and interests. Ultimately, its authors assert, the question of whether a fish feels the sting of a baited hook is too narrow a framework for a broader discussion of animal welfare. What would that look like?

Related Post
The Counter
Share
Published by
The Counter

Recent Posts

Grist acquires The Counter and launches food and agriculture vertical

Grist, an award-winning, nonprofit media organization dedicated to highlighting climate solutions and uncovering environmental injustices,…

6 months ago

Is California giving its methane digesters too much credit?

Every year, California dairy farms emit hundreds of thousands of tons of the potent greenhouse…

3 years ago

Your car is killing coho salmon

Highway 7 runs north-south through western Washington, carving its way through a landscape sparsely dotted…

3 years ago

The pandemic has transformed America’s dining landscape into an oligopoly dominated by chains 

One of the greatest pleasures I had as a child growing up in the Chicago…

3 years ago

California is moving toward food assistance for all populations—including undocumented immigrants

Undocumented immigrants experience food insecurity at much higher rates than other populations, yet they are…

3 years ago

Babka, borscht … and pumpkin spice? Two writers talk about Jewish identity through contemporary cookbooks.

Writer Charlotte Druckman and editor Rebecca Flint Marx are both Jewish journalists living in New…

3 years ago