Written by Michelle Kretzer
Sometimes, even compassionate people seem to disregard fish. I know: I was one of them. Years after I stopped eating meat, I identified as a vegetarian but would still have a little sushi. It was a long time before I realized—thanks to PETA—that fish are sentient beings who feel pain acutely and struggle against death. Perhaps a few other people are having their own "aha" moment right now, thanks to PETA Germany's recent victory for fish.
Acting on a tip, two PETA Germany investigators joined some tourists on a crab fishing boat operating along the northern coast. The crab fishing itself wasn't illegal, but the way the anglers were tormenting their "bycatch," fish, certainly was. Under German law, fish must be instantly killed or placed in water after being caught. But these anglers were catching several fish in their crab traps and leaving the unwanted animals to asphyxiate to death on the boat. They even laughed about the animals' struggle to breathe before they died.
The investigators shot video evidence and began throwing suffering fish back into the water. Then they filed a complaint with the Hamburg District Attorney's Office, and the court slapped the owner of the boat with a fine of 400 euros (about $540). He and his crew will likely be taking fish protection laws more seriously now.
If you know someone who claims, "I'm a vegetarian, but I still eat fish," perhaps you can mention this story as a way of illustrating that fish feel pain and, like every other animal, deserve to be free from suffering.
Hundreds of bass were crammed into tanks inside a truck traveling through Irvine, California, bound for the market. They never made it. The truck flipped over, cracking the tanks, and when firefighters opened the doors, the fish spilled out onto the roadway. Those who were not already dead from their injuries or lack of oxygen suffocated on the pavement.
Had the accident claimed human lives, it wouldn't have been surprising to see a memorial erected for the victims. So, because fish feel pain, value their lives, and don't want to die, just like human beings, PETA has requested that Irvine allow us to place a sign at the accident site in their memory:
Fish are intelligent animals who have impressive long-term memories and develop complex social structures. They use tools, tell time, count, and enjoy singing. But fish killed for food are typically either cut open and gutted alive or suffocated to death.
The best way for people to keep fish from suffering is to stop eating them. But erecting a memorial that reminds the drivers who haul them to be careful with the lives that they hold in their hands seems like the least that we can do.
Written by Jeff Mackey
A trio of PETA mermaids came ashore at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf to remind everyone that "seafood" comes from animals who feel pain and suffer when they're netted or impaled and pulled into an environment in which they can't breathe. After all, who would know better than these hybrid lovelies that fish, lobsters, and other sea-dwellers feel pain and want to live—just as the rest of us do.
What You Can Do
Cut the line on cruel seafood and make vegan fare the catch of the day instead!
Written by Ingrid E. Newkirk
I was in a sandwich shop getting lunch the other day when I noticed something wrong with the fish tank in the back. No bubbles! A powerful storm had downed trees four days earlier and knocked out power to 2 million people, but most businesses, including the sandwich shop, were open again. But the tank's filter and aerator had stopped working, the water was murky and yellow, and the water level was down as a result of evaporation in the heat. I stared at the fish, and they stared at me. Fiddling with the equipment, even turning the breaker switches on and off, had no effect. It took a couple of hours to find a tropical-fish store that was open, get a new aerator and filter, and add about 20 gallons of filtered water to the tank, but at last, the fish stopped gasping.
There are many reasons not to keep fish in a tank, but in summer and winter, with increased storm activity, anyone with an aquarium needs to be prepared for a power outage. If you have an aquarium, assemble an emergency kit today—you may not be able to get what you need before or after the storm because stores may be closed or have run out of supplies. Even if you don't have a tank, please read these tips so that you can share them with someone you know who keeps fish:
jelene|cc by 2.0
Make sure that the water is aerated. If you have not prepared by getting a battery-operated air pump, you may be able to save the fish by changing the water (do not introduce untreated tap water), or just remove some of the water from the tank and pour it back in again to introduce air.
During winter outages, wrap the tank in Mylar blankets and monitor the temperature. During summer outages, move the tank to a dark spot or otherwise shield it from direct light if possible, which reduces stress and heat. Check the temperature, and if it gets too warm, replace the water with slightly cooler water if you can.
Fish are smart, interesting individuals who naturally live in streams, rivers, and the ocean, not in a water-filled box that keeps them hovering in a diluted mixture of their own waste and rotting food. It's like making your cat live inside a sealed, unchanged litterbox.
And what is there for them to do? In nature, they explore, have friends (yes, there are lots of studies about this), and enjoy the seasons, seeking a mate and raising young. In other words, they have a life. Thinking it's OK to use them as cute decorations is to hold an archaic view of nature, as if it's OK to dominate and use animals as a commodity rather than respecting them for their individuality and their right to live their own lives.
It's not a fish tale—PETA's persuasive Freeda Fish paraded down a Pensacola pier asking hookers to quit the business.
While the hooking they were doing might not have been illegal, it certainly wasn't very nice to fish, so Freeda made sure that the fresh catch of this day was the insight that fish are friends, not food.
The Miami Marlins swing into the regular season in a new ballpark, opening tonight, featuring engraved pavement stones in the East Plaza, one of which reads:
As you may have detected, the first letters of the words in this message spell out "FishingHurts.com," a Web address that brings up a page on PETA's website about the cruelty involved in fishing and the reasons to give fish a break. Yep, it's a hidden message placed by PETA—after all, when animals' lives are on the line (pun intended), why limit attention-getting pranks about fish to April Fools' Day?
Marlins are a species of fish. And they, like all fish, are much more beautiful alive and swimming in the ocean than on a menu.
Fish (including marlins) feel pain, and they suffer when they're caught on a hook or in a net and dragged into an environment in which they can't breathe. It's much better to choose cruelty-free activities instead—like, say, watching a baseball game.
When officials in a New Jersey city drained most of a park pond to dredge the sides, workers drained too much water, and numerous fish were stranded on the banks and suffocated. The fish who survived were huddled in shallow pools that were nearly frozen and were trying to stay alive in the frigid weather.
PETA's phone lines lit up like a Christmas tree, and we sprang into action. We alerted city officials to the tragic situation, asking for more water to be added to the pond, and sent out an action alert to our supporters, who bombarded officials with pleas to save the fish. Within 24 hours, the pond was being refilled, and the surviving fish could breathe a little easier.
Time and time again, animals' lives have been saved because PETA members like you demanded action. Thank you. And if you haven't joined our e-mail list yet, please do so today.
It sounds like the plot of a Disney movie, but this video of a pig and dog who are best buds would warm even Walt's cryogenically frozen heart.
"Don't mind me." After committing the most adorable case of breaking and entering ever, a baby seal curled up on a New Zealand woman's couch for a nap.
Can you do a good "fish face"? These people are spot-on. … Or are the fish doing a spot-on "human face"?
Would you like an awkward conversation about the facts of life with that? A 7-year-old girl and her mother allegedly discovered a condom in the child's McDonald's Happy Meal.
Talk about a return on your investment: Eight years after she went missing, a dog is going home to her family, thanks to a tiny, inexpensive microchip.
And a chicken named Liberty, dubbed Britain's "last battery hen" is headed home too. She will enjoy retirement on a farm with other hens who were formerly confined to battery cages as the U.K.'s ban on the cruel confinement system goes into effect for the new year.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
The new year is already looking a bit brighter for animals: A PETCO store in Dickson City, Pennsylvania, has announced that it will close permanently on January 1—which is great news for the hamsters, gerbils, mice, fish, and other small animals who suffer and die every day in PETCO's stores and suppliers' facilities.
"Life" for the animals PETCO sells often consists of struggling to survive wild capture or captive breeding in horrific conditions, suffering from untreated injuries and illnesses, and fighting for food in feces-strewn, severely crowded cages. At the massive breeding mills that supply live animals to the pet trade, PETA investigations have revealed sick and dying animals placed in freezers to die, live hamsters placed in a plastic bag and bashed against a table in an attempt to kill them, animals deprived of veterinary care and left to cannibalize their cagemates' corpses, and other horrors.
For the sake of small animals, please say "No" to PETCO and other stores that sell animals.
Are crows into Grand Theft Auto? These brainy birds steal windshield wiper blades for reasons known only to themselves, although having fun with them might be the answer.
Ravens seem more interested in studying sign language. Like primates and humans, the birds use gestures to communicate—in this case, pointing with their beaks.
Octopuses have bird brains (read "big brains") too. Some octopuses in captivity make toys and games out of items in their tanks. Some let the people they like stroke their heads, while a person on an octopus's bad side may get squirted.
Fish enjoy the calming effects of touch, too, but not from people. They will allow small fish who work as full-time cleaners to nibble at their scales even when they don't have parasites because they like the gentle massage.
Dogs, of course, love affection from people, and their devotion to their guardians doesn't usually fade when that guardian passes away. A faithful dog in China refuses to leave his guardian's grave, and the townspeople plan to build a doghouse there for the grieving canine.
After being stolen from his home, held for five years, and then apparently dumped after he developed a medical problem, a precocious pup who loves to travel hopped on a bus. When he was spotted by the driver and taken to a vet, his microchip guaranteed that the next trip he took was back home to his family.
Another clever canine is a hero after she grabbed a bag of kittens someone had tossed onto the highway, pulled it off the road, dragged it home, and cried until her guardian opened it.
Resourceful deer, raccoons, blue herons, and other animals have figured out how to safely cross the road (without instructions from chickens).
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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