It was thought until the 2000s that fish did not feel the pain. This belief has long justified breeding or fishing practices that are now increasingly considered unacceptable.
With
- Sébastien Moro, scientific popularizer in the field of animal cognition.
- Amandine Sanvisens, co-founder of PAZ (Zoopolis Animals Project)
« Fish spend their time questioning everything we knew about the cognitive abilities of animals, » amuses Sébastien Moro. It was discovered that fish can use tools and for some mental tasks they are better than chimpanzees »
A slow awareness of the suffering of fish
We speak of fish as we speak of inert goods. How many times have we read or heard about fish « resources », or cod « stock »? An economic vocabulary still present in all discussions.
On the wild fish side, an article in the scientific journal Animal Welfare estimated, based on the catch tonnages provided by the FAO (excluding illegal fishing and accidental catches), that 1,100 to 2000 billion individuals are fished each year. That is five to ten times more than there are stars in our galaxy.
More than 30 million fish are kept in French homes (FACCO-ODOXA Barometer 2024-2025). The less fortunate go around in circles in a « ball » aquarium – a perpetual psychological suffering – and all are considered commodities, often as decorative objects.
More than 70 studies published in international scientific journals show that fish feel and react to pain, says researcher Lynne Sneddon, who was the first to prove the existence of nociceptors (a pain receptor) in fish.
« Before 2002, it was said that fish could not feel pain because the presence of nociceptors had not been confirmed in their home. But in 2002 and 2003, nociceptors were identified for the first time in rainbow trout, particularly numerous at the level of the lips. It was later shown in carp, goldfish, trout and salmon, that potentially painful stimuli generated activity in areas of the brain different from the activity observed in reaction to non-painful stimuli, » says Sébastien Moro.
The injection of bee venom or vinegar into the lips in trout and zebrafish causes stress reactions such as cortisol secretion and increased breathing rhythm). The fish then avoid eating for several hours and go so far as to rub their lips against the substrate or aquarium windows. However, these reactions are minimal or non-existent when fish are treated by injection of painless physiological fluid rather than with aggressive substances, and they are reduced when they receive analgesics.
Fish have nervous system receptors that react to pain
And in a « surprisingly similar » way to that of other mammals, according to a study published by Lynne Sneddon at the end of 2023.
« When subjected to a potentially painful event, fish have undesirable behavioral changes, such as feeding suspension and reduced activity, which are avoided when they are given an analgesic, » said Dr. Sneddon. « When the fish’s lips receive a painful stimulus, they rub their mouths against the side of the aquarium, much like we rub our toe when we hit it. If we accept that the fish feel pain, it has important implications for how we treat them. Precautions must be taken when handling fish to avoid damaging their sensitive skin and they must be captured and killed without cruelty. «
This abundance of evidence has, so far, only had a limited effect on the way we treat it.
In 2021, at the initiative of the PAZ association, about thirty personalities, associations and academics, launch an appeal in Reporterre for the ban on live fishing.
« It is time for French law to move towards a more explicit ban on live fishing (since the ban on animal abuse in the Criminal Code has never been applied against it), in line with the latest scientific discoveries and the public’s sensitivity to violence against animals. Let’s emphasize that this fishing is not a rural practice: it is much more practiced by fishermen in the Paris agglomeration than by those in rural municipalities. The recent commitments of the cities of Paris and the metropolis of Grenoble show that the movement is underway. «
This technique is relatively common on the river side, where small live fish are used to catch predators such as pike, or at sea with small crabs to iron sea bream, for example.
A cruel fishing for Amandine Sanvisens: « Fish and crabs are animals endowed with sensitivity. There is a scientific consensus that they feel the pain, » says the co-founder of the organization. « They pierce their backs or mouths with a hook when they are still conscious. It’s a real torture, » she continues.
The goal is of Amandine Sanvisens and her association is to obtain a reform of recreational fishing in France:
But also to prohibit fishing for the purpose of fishing: According to calculations made by PAZ for France, more than 5 million trout are raised each year to « fish » lakes and rivers used for recreational fishing. This figure is largely underestimated and does not take into account other species that suffer the same fate, such as predatory fish such as pikes or pike perch.
source : radiofrance
