Trigger Warning on Fishing Shows? As Research Proves Fish Suffer “Intense” Pain, PETA Says Yes

For Immediate Release:
July 17, 2025

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

A new study shows that suffocation is as distressful for fish as it is for humans, and fish who are pulled from the water can experience severe, debilitating pain for up to 10 minutes—and larger fish, like those commonly caught on fishing shows, can suffer for more than an hour—before they become unconscious. In response, PETA has sent letters today to the producers of major fishing shows—including Bill Dance Outdoors, Flats Class, Saltwater Experience, and Harpoon Hunters—urging them to add a graphic content warning on programming that shows fish gasping, struggling, and dying.

PETA points out that just as trigger warnings are issued for scenes depicting disturbing, graphic violence toward humans—or for outdated, offensive content that’s deemed unacceptable by today’s standards—a similar warning that alerts viewers to the extreme suffering of fish is now required, given the undeniable fact that fish suffer extreme pain and experience panic and fear just as humans do.

“This new study proves what PETA has pointed to and what commonsense tells us all along: Fish suffer extreme pain and distress when they’re impaled, dragged from their life in the water, and left to slowly suffocate,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “Watching an animal be tormented and killed is a disturbing scene for anyone with compassion, and PETA is calling on fishing shows to acknowledge their graphic content by warning would-be viewers.”

PETA notes that fish communicate and develop relationships with one another, can use tools, and understand simple addition and subtraction. They have long memories, sing to each other, share knowledge, and some can recognize themselves in a mirror—yet billions are abused and killed for food each year, more than all other animals combined.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. The group also offers a free vegan starter kit on its website. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.