"rtk" wrote in message ...
Research funding is hard to come by, generally reserved for subjects which
have some more or less direct benefit for humans. The study of mercury in
fish food has a much better chance of being supported than the sensitivities
of goldfish in an artificial environment.

We regularly read in the newspapers about some startling ability of animals,
fish, and birds: dog detects kidney disease in owner, cat finds home 300 miles
away , ape uses variety of tools, one specie nurses another. We have known for
a long time that animals surpass humans in many special ways: hearing, speed,
navigation, loyalty, among others. Those of us who have pets have experienced
little surprises regularly: my fish know I'm the one with food and not the
other guy; my dog knew the leash was meaningful only in my hand; my hunter cat
would not harm a mouse in our house. That one fish hiding behind the rock
knows he's the one my net is after while the others just go their merry way!

My point is we do not know how the fish feels out of water, lying on the
counter, moving frantically and gasping. We're not going to find out in
school an no one will likely receive funding to research it. But we do know
about our own nervous systems and our ability to project our feelings, to feel
especially kindly toward those who are smaller than us, to think logically
about their well-being, and to treat all living creatures with care. Some of
can't do this, not think clearly or act kindly. To suggest that what is big
feels more than what is small, that the human animal feels more pain than
other animals, that all creatures, being of less value than one's mother, need
therefore receive no consideration, diminishes the person.


Ruth Kazez

This is not about whether one animal has more value than another, or whether one
animal deserves more consideration than another. And frankly, I am quite
offended by your suggestion that I don't have consideration for other animals.
I've been raising fish for 35 years of my life: you cannot have such a hobby
for so long a time and not have emotional attachment to your animals. It is
about whether fish experience the human emotion of pain and suffering, which, if
certain people had paid attention in the science classes (or even taken one)
that some criticise me for taking, you would have discovered that they don't.

And my point is that we do know that they don't experience pain and suffering.
I've already posted the complete text, but I will, for your benefit, post a link
to an article, which talks in detail about whether fish can experience pain and
suffering:

http://www.cotrout.org/do_fish_feel_pain.htm