http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&u=/ap/20041116/ap_on_re_us/fish_empathy_3&printer=1 For those who don't want to follow the link: PETA Campaign Pitches Fish As Smart Tue Nov 16, 4:05 PM ET By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer NEW YORK - Touting tofu chowder and vegetarian sushi as alternatives, animal-rights activists have launched a novel campaign arguing that fish contrary to stereotype are intelligent, sensitive animals no more deserving of being eaten than a pet dog or cat. Called the Fish Empathy Project, the campaign reflects a strategy shift by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as it challenges a diet component widely viewed as nutritious and uncontroversial. "No one would ever put a hook through a dog's or cat's mouth," said Bruce Friedrich, PETA's director of vegan outreach. "Once people start to understand that fish, although they come in different packaging, are just as intelligent, they'll stop eating them." The campaign is in its infancy and will face broad skepticism. Major groups such as the American Heart Association (news - web sites) recommend fish as part of a healthy diet; some academics say it is wrong to portray the intelligence and pain sensitivity of fish as comparable to mammals. "Fish are very complex organisms that do all sorts of fascinating things," said University of Wyoming neuroscientist James Rose. "But to suggest they know they what's happening to them and worry about it, that's just not the case." PETA, headquartered in Norfolk, Va., has campaigned for years against sport fishing, challenging claims by Rose and others that fish caught by anglers do not feel pain. PETA also has joined other critics in decrying the high levels of mercury or other toxins in many fish and the pollution discharged by many fish farms. The Empathy Project is a departure in two respects attempting to depict the standard practices of commercial fishing as cruel and seeking to convince consumers that there are ethical reasons for not eating fish. "Fish are so misunderstood because they're so far removed from our daily lives," said Karin Robertson, 24, the Empathy Project manager and daughter of an Indiana fisheries biologist. "They're such interesting, fascinating individuals, yet they're so incredibly abused." The project was inspired by several recent scientific studies widely reported in Britain but little-noticed in the United States detailing facets of fish intelligence. Oxford University researcher Theresa Burt de Perera, for example, reported that the blind Mexican cave fish is able to interpret water pressure changes to construct a detailed mental map of its surroundings. "Most people dismiss fish as dimwitted pea-brains. ... Yet this is a great fallacy," wrote University of Edinburgh biologist Culum Brown in the June edition of New Scientist. "In many areas, such as memory, their cognitive powers match or exceed those of 'higher' vertebrates, including non-human primates." Chris Glass of the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences in Massachusetts led another recent study, showing how North Sea haddock developed abilities to avoid trawlers' nets. "There's no doubt that fish of all shapes and forms are capable of learning fairly complex tasks," Glass said. "They can learn from their environment and experience." Yet Glass declined to endorse the don't-eat-fish appeals. "We don't want to be caught between warring factions," he said. "We're interested in helping the fisheries industry do a responsible job." To press their argument, PETA activists plan demonstrations starting next month at selected seafood restaurants nationwide. PETA also will urge changes in commercial fishing practices, for example proposing that trawler crews stun fish before cutting them up. Friedrich questioned why there is popular support for sparing marine mammals dolphins and porpoises yet minimal concern for species like tuna, "whose suffering would warrant felony animal cruelty charges if they were mammals." Fish-welfare rules would be a new realm for U.S. commercial fishermen. The National Fisheries Institute, which represents them, has pledged to help sustain fish stocks but its members have never faced cruelty regulations regarding their catch. "It's irresponsible to discourage people from eating fish at a time when doctors and dietitians advise eating it twice a week," said institute president John Connelly. "If anything, we should be eating more fish." Friedrich acknowledges the difficulty of changing long-held customs, but thinks his project is worthwhile. "We'd rather go too far than not far enough," he said.
Well DUH! Fish spend a lot of time in SCHOOLS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HA __________________
As someone who eats lobster sashimi about every 3 weeks where they cut the tail off of a live one (and it will occasionally try to crawl off the table in the middle of the meal), I've never heard the creature complain. I'm glad to see the quality of life is so high in America that people can complain about meaningless garbage like this... What's next, we stop letting the lions eat the weaker springbucks because they didn't get a fair shake in life?
These people are right up there next to 'Environmentalist' as the biggest whack jobs on earth. I say to them all: GET A JOB!
Honestly i think they should worry about making their own clothes, not bathing, and eating nuts and berries
Your talking about people that are so screwed up that some of the will not wear cotton products. There into HEMP. Last time I checked hemp is a plant, plants are living things are they not? Those people make clothes & smoke the hemp plant. MURDERS!!! FILTHY HIPPIE PLANT KILLERS!!!
**** PETA! Can these idiots get a ****ing life and worry about actual human beings for a change? Why don't they go live in the forrest and run around with Yogi and Bambi so we can hunt them.
All I gotta say is that if these fish are so dammm intelligent like the article says....why do they keep biting the hook ?
Seriously, we need to have a scientist somehow prove that plants can actually feel pain. That would be great! Then these morons would have no choice but to take their own lives and leave the rest of us alone.
Naw! Keep them out of the forest. They will probably team up with the Sierra Club and come up with more ways to screw up the environment and make the Sierra Club's lawyers richer than they are now!
Yeah, I guess you're right. Pretty funny how those who want to protect the environment seem to hurt it even worse. It still would be fun to have some target practice though. *Uncle Jimbo*They're headed right for us*Uncle Jimbo*
Kind of reminds me of that Lost in Space episode where they land on a planet with a giant carrot guy, and everytime they walk through the woods and cut at the bushes w/ their machetes, they hear screaming. It then turns out, the plants feel pain. Hmmm.
Don't criticize the Sierra club. One time I was hiking near the Joshua Tree National Forest and stumbled onto these hot springs, pretty cool rock outcroppings with pools of different temperature. There was a couple already enjoying the hot mineral water, so my GF and I jumped right in after a tiring 10 mile hike. 20 minutes later, a Sierra Club group shows up. They decide to join, sans swimsuits, and being 90 percent female, it was not UNWELCOME. PS. What did I have for lunch today? Tilapia with polenta !!!!!!!!!!!!!!