A new study published in Scientific Reports and featured in an article from Earth.com spotlights the suffering of fishes when they are caught and killed for food.
While land animals killed for food in Canada must be stunned before slaughter, there is no such law around fishes. Wild-caught fishes are commonly killed by asphyxiation (slowly suffocating to death in the open air), which leads to immense fear and suffering.
The research found that “the average trout endures about ten minutes of pain that qualifies as hurtful, disabling, or excruciating. In some conditions, this could stretch beyond 20 minutes.”
Researchers evaluated stunning as an alternative to prolonged asphyxiation for fish. Their findings highlight flaws in both the stunning methods they evaluated.
- “Electrical stunning, if properly used, could spare 60 to 1,200 minutes of suffering for every dollar spent … But implementation remains inconsistent. In many commercial settings, electrical stunning fails to reliably render fish unconscious.”
- “Percussive stunning – a physical blow to the head – has shown better consistency in lab settings. But it’s difficult to scale.”
As we recognize that fishes are sentient animals who feel pain, experience fear, and try to avoid suffering, there is one method that can consistently protect their well-being: switching from fish to plant-based alternatives on our plates.