Oceans Away from Home: The Suffering of Fish in Captivity
Fish are the most popular animal species held captive in the world, but are the most overlooked and neglected in terms of basic animal rights and welfare. Similar to mammals, these animals possess complex social and neurological processes and the capacity to experience suffering and pain. They also have naturally evolved individual and social biological needs that require the opportunity to engage in species-specific behaviors.
BORN FREE USA: Fish represent some of the most overlooked and neglected species in terms of basic animal husbandry and welfare yet remain some of the most popular animals held captive in the world. Almost all captive facilities that keep fish completely ignore that these animals are individuals, are sentient, possess naturally evolved biological needs, and require the opportunity to engage in species-specific behaviors, which are essential to living a healthy, meaningful, and gratifying life for any living creature.
The ‘Oceans Away from Home: The Suffering of Fish in Captivity’ report summarizes the reasoning behind this disproportionate lack of value associated with fish compared to other animals; overviews the harmful effects of wild fish population depletion to supply the demand for the private fish trade; analyzes the gross shortcomings of zoos in protecting fish welfare and conservation; confirms fish sentience by providing evidence for complex social and neurological processes similar to mammals, and therefore a similar capacity to experience suffering and pain; and argues for a more compassionate and comprehensive protection of the tens of thousands of unmonitored fish species that fall victim to the exploitation-driven private fish trade every day…
Key Findings:
– Globally, it is estimated that more than 1 billion ornamental fish (freshwater and marine) from some 5,400 species are traded annually for the aquarium industry. Few of these species are regulated or protected in any way.
– Other than a couple exceptions, legislation in the U.S. does not protect fish in captivity from abuse, neglect, or animal cruelty.
– Despite 76.5% of AZA facilities keeping aquatic animals, they do not have minimum enclosure standards or sizes, welfare, or conservation requirements for captive fish. There are also no regulations for touch tanks, which pose a major human public health and safety risk from zoonotic disease transfer (some being potentially fatal).
– Aquarium tanks are many orders of magnitude smaller than even the smallest and most sedentary fish home range sizes in the wild, resulting in fish experiencing extremely poor health and welfare. SOURCE…
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