Fish Feel Pain – PETA Urges Weymouth Locals Leave Fish and Lobsters in the Sea
Today, PETA protesters had a simple message: “Try to Relate to Who’s on Your Plate – Go Vegan.” Have you ever considered the journey that an animal endured to end up on your plate? Was it willingly undertaken? No. So today, PETA protesters “swam” down to Weymouth for the annual Nyetimber Dorset Seafood Festival to highlight the devastating environmental impact of fishing and the plight of millions of crustaceans who are boiled alive.
Sea Animals Feel Pain!
The scientific consensus is clear: fish, crabs, and lobsters are sentient and can experience pain. Dr Lynne Sneddon, one of the world’s leading experts on fish pain, agrees that there is plenty of evidence demonstrating this capacity in fish.
Because lobsters don’t have a centralised nervous system but instead have ganglia, masses of nervous tissue, spread throughout their bodies, they continue to feel pain even after they’re dismembered and their suffering is prolonged.
An exposé of a crustacean abattoir revealed that live lobsters were impaled, torn apart, and decapitated – even as their legs continued to move. When boiled alive, it for lobsters and crabs to die, and they writhe in agony until they succumb.
‘By-Catch’ is ‘Goodbye’ for a Lot More Sentient Beings Than You Think
“[U]p to 40% of all marine life caught gets thrown right back overboard as bycatch, and most of them die before they even hit the water.”
– Ali Tabrizi, Seaspiracy director
Today’s fishing industry is deeply cruel and damaging to the environment, killing millions of “non-target” animals every year in addition to the intended targets of fish and shellfish, who are often crushed to death or gutted alive on the decks of fishing boats.
The fishing industry clings to the term “by-catch”, just as it tries to maintain that it “harvests” animals – even though we know that, in reality, they’re being slaughtered.
“By-catch” is the fishing industry’s shady, evasive way of referring to its hundreds of thousands of overlooked victims: the dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, whales, octopuses, rays, seals, birds, and other “non-target” species who are caught or become entangled in fishing nets – like those targeting tuna or shrimp – and are discarded or left to die.
Finding Fish-Free Food
With all the delicious vegan lobster, fish-free fillets, and crabless cakes available these days, it’s never been easier for Weymouth locals and everyone else to go vegan.
Vegan fish and seafood options not only are better for animals and the world’s oceans but also offer all the taste without any of the toxins or cholesterol found in cruelly obtained fish flesh.
There are plenty of vegan seafood products to check out:
