Question:
Please address the cruelty that is out of control in the tropical-fish industry. As you can see from the enclosed pictures of bubble-eyed goldfish, it is just one of the many abnormalities one sees in this apparently hugely profitable industry. I am incensed and outraged to see it. The poor fish are so grossly disfigured, one wonders how they can even see food unless it is above their range of vision. If you go online, you can see fish with a heart on the side, much like a tattoo, and disfiguring top notches on oranda breeds, to name a few.
It's bad enough and inhumane to give fish as children's prizes at carnivals -- surely the adults who should know better never consider the high mortality rate. Now we must be subjected to the disfigurement of such social creatures. Is it just a mere coincidence that these fish look sad?
I hope you can say something that will urge people to give serious thought before they perpetuate this profitable industry by continuing to buy these fish.
B.L.McC., Chesapeake, Va Feb 14, 2010
Answer:
I agree with you absolutely. The deliberate breeding of genetically deformed fish (or any animal for that matter) and creating novel pets through genetic engineering are ethically reprehensible activities -- just one dimension of human exploitation of animals that will not cease until we evolve into a more compassionate species. Scientists have shown that fish are highly intelligent creatures with pain receptors and neurochemical pathways associated with such emotional states as fear and anxiety. Some fish show evidence of loneliness and depression as well as insightful and cooperative behavior.
But, as with other animal species, humans treat fish like unfeeling commodities, throwaway objects of decorative, visual enjoyment. A well-managed aquarium with normal healthy fish may be the least offensive form of exploitation, but countless numbers of wild-caught and captive-bred fish die before they ever reach a caring home.
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