waterandallowedtoflaparoundinanetorondrylanduntil
theydie.Surelyitisonlybecausefishdonotyelporwhimper
inawaythatwecanhearthatotherwisedecentpeoplecan
thinkitapleasantwayofspendinganafternoontositbythe
waterdanglingahookwhilepreviouslycaughtfishdieslowly
beside them.
In 1976 the British Royal Society for the Prevention of
Crueltyto Animalssetup anindependentpanel ofinquiry
intoshooting and angling.Thepanel waschaired byLord
Medway,anotedzoologist,andmadeupofexpertsoutside
the RSPCA. The inquiry examined in detail evidence on
whetherfishcanfeelpain,andconcludedunequivocallythat
theevidenceforpaininfishisasstrongastheevidencefor
painin other vertebrateanimals.^22 People moreconcerned
aboutcausingpainthanaboutkillingmayask:Assumingfish
cansuffer,howmuchdotheyactuallysufferinthenormal
processofcommercialfishing?Itmayseemthatfish,unlike
birdsandmammals,arenotmadetosufferintheprocessof
rearingthemforourtables,sincetheyareusuallynotreared
atall:humanbeingsinterferewiththemonlytocatchandkill
them.Actuallythisisnotalwaystrue:fishfarming—whichis
as intensive a form of factory farming as raising feedlot
beef—isarapidlygrowingindustry.Itbeganwithfreshwater
fishliketrout,buttheNorwegiansdevelopedatechniquefor
producingsalmonincagesinthesea,andothercountriesare
now using this method for a variety of marine fish. The
potentialwelfareproblemsoffarmedfish,suchasstocking
densities, the denial of the migratory urge, stress during
handling,andsoonhavenotevenbeeninvestigated.Buteven
withfishwhoarenotfarmed,thedeathofa commercially
caughtfishismuchmoredrawnoutthanthedeathof,say,a
chicken,sincefisharesimplyhauledupintotheairandleftto