On Fish Suffering
Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 5:59 pm
This topic may have already been discussed on the forum, but I want to hear your thoughts.
Pain-commonly described as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage
Nociceptive pain (nociception)- Nervous system's response to harmful or noxious stimuli
I recently came across a systematic review by a team of neurobiologists and behavioral ecologists who analyzed several studies claiming that fish feel pain. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/faf.12010/full They concluded that claims for consciousness and pain in fish lack adequate supporting evidence and neurological feasibility. The brain structures known to be essential to conscious awareness are the neocortex and mesocortex, which are found only in mammals.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/20026491051668
Fish lack C fiber nociceptors which are the most prevalent type in mammals and other animals. In humans, they’re responsible for agonizing pain. Fish do however possess A-delta nociceptors, but these are more “mechanical,” and after injury, trigger escape and avoidance responses.
The current research shows fish are capable, to some extent of nociceptive pain. They have a central nervous system, sensory receptors, change to noxious stimuli etc., but the research doesn’t seem to suggest they experience conscious pain. Fish have shown normal activity/ feeding habits right after surgery and electric shock (see study above).
However, I’m not sure it may be the best decision to rule out sentience or pain in fish. If consciousness and pain are contingent on the possession of a neocortex, then many other non-mammalian animals, like birds and octopuses, would be rendered “not conscious.”
In the same year this study was published, a group of top international neuroscientists and neurophysiologists reassessed the neurological processes for consciousness and concluded that the absence of a neocortex does not impede an organism’s ability to experience consciousness.
http://fcmconference.org/img/CambridgeDeclarationOnConsciousness.pdf
What are your thoughts on fish consciousness and pain?
Pain-commonly described as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage
Nociceptive pain (nociception)- Nervous system's response to harmful or noxious stimuli
I recently came across a systematic review by a team of neurobiologists and behavioral ecologists who analyzed several studies claiming that fish feel pain. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/faf.12010/full They concluded that claims for consciousness and pain in fish lack adequate supporting evidence and neurological feasibility. The brain structures known to be essential to conscious awareness are the neocortex and mesocortex, which are found only in mammals.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/20026491051668
Fish lack C fiber nociceptors which are the most prevalent type in mammals and other animals. In humans, they’re responsible for agonizing pain. Fish do however possess A-delta nociceptors, but these are more “mechanical,” and after injury, trigger escape and avoidance responses.
The current research shows fish are capable, to some extent of nociceptive pain. They have a central nervous system, sensory receptors, change to noxious stimuli etc., but the research doesn’t seem to suggest they experience conscious pain. Fish have shown normal activity/ feeding habits right after surgery and electric shock (see study above).
However, I’m not sure it may be the best decision to rule out sentience or pain in fish. If consciousness and pain are contingent on the possession of a neocortex, then many other non-mammalian animals, like birds and octopuses, would be rendered “not conscious.”
In the same year this study was published, a group of top international neuroscientists and neurophysiologists reassessed the neurological processes for consciousness and concluded that the absence of a neocortex does not impede an organism’s ability to experience consciousness.
http://fcmconference.org/img/CambridgeDeclarationOnConsciousness.pdf
What are your thoughts on fish consciousness and pain?