Do Fish Feel Pain? 1st Edition

by Victoria Braithwaite (Author)

16 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0199551200

ISBN-10: 0199551200

Why is ISBN important?

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Share <Embed>

Other Sellers

from

Other Sellers

See all 2 versions

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Smart One Products

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

17 used from $18.12

& FREE Shipping. Details

FREE delivery: Monday, May 3 Details

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Ships from and sold by Poverty Hill Books.

4 new from $49.95

$3.79 delivery: May 6 - 12

Fastest delivery: April 30 - May 5

Each year millions of fish are caught on barbed hooks or left to die by suffocation on the decks of fishing boats. But while there has been increasing interest in recent years in the welfare of mammals, fish are thought to be too different--too dim-witted, too cold-blooded, too simple--to
merit our concern.

Here, biologist Victoria Braithwaite explores the question of fish pain and fish suffering, explaining what science can now tell us about fish behavior, and examining the related ethical questions about how we should treat these animals. Fish have in the past been portrayed as slow, cold
automata with a very simple brain that generates stereotyped behavior. But Braithwaite presents new scientific evidence that seriously challenges this view. Indeed, there is a growing body of science demonstrating that fish are far smarter and more cognitively competent than we have previously
suspected. Several fish species are surprisingly intelligent and research has shown that they can have both accurate and long lasting memories, which in some cases, such as migrating salmon, can span years. Moreover, the author demonstrates that fish have more in common with other vertebrates than
we think. Their overall physiology, for instance, shares many similarities with other vertebrates--even ourselves. The way that they respond to stressful situations, the so-called "stress response," is strikingly similar. After experiencing a stressful event, our bodies release cortisol into the
blood, and the same is true in fish.

Victoria Braithwaite is one of the key scientists working on fish pain and she is also actively involved with both the fishing industry and the angling world, helping them sort through the implications of these findings. Though far from anti-fishing, she concludes that scientific evidence
suggests that we should widen to fish the protection currently given to birds and animals.

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Helen Scales
139
Hardcover
$18.49
A. Peter Klimley Ph.D.
44
Paperback
$17.29

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Christine M. Korsgaard
47
Hardcover
$21.75

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Jessica Pierce
77
Hardcover
$24.19
Marc Bekoff Ph.D.
25
Paperback
$13.60
David Quammen
2,129
Paperback
$15.89
Jessica Pierce
40
Hardcover
$26.00

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now
Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Braithwaite is at her best when conveying the sophistication of fish behavior. She does an admirable job of convincing readers that fish are smart." -- The Quarterly Review of Biology

About the Author

Victoria Braithwaite is Professor of Fisheries and Biology, School of Forest Resources, Pennsylvania State University. Her research investigates the evolution of animal cognition, focusing on fish learning, perception, and memory. She has advised the UK Government Animal Procedures Committee, has
published numerous research articles, and written for the broadsheet media including the LA Times. In 2006 Professor Braithwaite was awarded the Fisheries Society of the British Isles Medal.

Product details

Publisher : Oxford University Press; 1st edition (April 19, 2010)
Language : English
Hardcover : 194 pages
ISBN-10 : 0199551200
ISBN-13 : 978-0199551200
Item Weight : 13.2 ounces
Dimensions : 8.6 x 1 x 5.6 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #978,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #177 in Ichthyology (Books)
- #345 in Zoology (Books)
- #678 in Biology of Fishes & Sharks

Customer Reviews:
16 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		62%
4 star		24%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star		6%
1 star		8%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Reports the evidence

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

Well presented research in an easy to read style.

Helpful

Jan Liu

A good start

Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2010

Verified Purchase

The first time I had to yank a hook out of a baby fish, my heart trebled. When I searched on the internet on whether fish feel pain, I found very little information.

So this book should get stars simply by being the first to devote an entire book to the topic. A very important topic I believe.

It is a thin book, obviously, but that's hardly the author's fault, as there really is relatively little research done on the topic.

It is an overall well written book. I felt the first couple of chapters of introductory to the main theme sometimes is a little slow, occasionally saying the things most people already know. But once the book started to talk about the author's own scientific experiments investigating whether fish feel pain, it became very interesting. Maybe because I'm not a biologist, so there is a lot of curiosity in me to see how this is done. I'm glad all is described in detail and in a way a lay person can understand. I found her experiments fascinating and it would be a great read for any high school or even middle school kids pondering a career in science.

The following chapters when the author argued in different aspects why fish do feel pain are very convincing and equally fascinating.

The end of the book talked about fish welfare, which is very good. I had not been aware of the inhumane practices in the fishing industry.

It's good the author is not taking a stand on angling. She is quite philosophical about it. I do wish she give more instructions on how to treat fish more humanely when you do enjoy angling, such as what's the fastest and least painful way to kill a fish once you get it.

The book is definitely worth reading, even just for the juicy animal behavior examples, like how two different marine species cooperate to hunt.

I do hope in a few years the author can update the book with new discoveries and new development, and make it a even more authoritative volume on the subject.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ambrose B. Terrence

Excellent!

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2013

Verified Purchase

Useful and meaningful information about what can be a 'painful' topic! Thanks to the author for her effort and insight.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Paul P. N. Tung

It takes better people to understand life of other animals

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2010

Verified Purchase

It is not whether fish can feel pain or not, all creatures want to stay alive just like all humans. The struggle of a fish when taken out of water is no different from a person forced into water to be drowned.

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

THIS RESEARCHER ANSWERS THE QUESTION IN THE AFFIRMATIVE

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2012

Victoria Braithwaite is a professor of Biology at Penn State University; in 2006 she was awarded the Fisheries Society Medal in the British Isles.

She wrote in the Preface to this 2010 book, "My goal in writing this book has been to provide the background to promote informed discussion... I examine what we know so far about pain in fish, and whether it is meaningful to discuss fish welfare at all. After reading the book, I hope you will be in a position to make up your own mind... It draws us toward difficult, grey areas---if fish feel pain, then what about octopus, squid and lobsters---where do we draw the line?" Later she asks, "Would we really want to accord animal welfare consideration to earthworms?" (Pg. 120)

The questions she and her colleagues attempted to address are, "do fish have the necessary receptors and nerve fibres to detect painful events? ... (whether) a potentially painful stimulus triggered activity in the nervous system... (and) how the experience of a potentially painful event affected the behaviour of fish and the decisions that they made." (Pg. 7) She later states that "To be convinced an animal experiences pain, we had to show that a complex behaviour is affected." (Pg. 66)

While noting that the absence of a neocortex in a fish brain is important, she argues that "various brain imaging techniqes have revealed that these areas (i.e., pain) lie beneath the neocortex." (Pg. 12) She asks, "Certainly the lack of a neocortex will prevent fish from experiencing things we might, but can we really conclude that fish feel nothing?" (Pg. 97)

She concludes that fish "have the mental capacity to feel pain. I suspect that what they experience will be different and simpler than the experience we associate with pain and suffering, but I see no reason to deny them these abilities, and quite a bit which argues that they will suffer from noxious stimuli." (Pg. 112)

This is certainly the most extensive examination of this question in a book, and will be interesting reading for persons on all sides of this debate.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Chestnut worm

Measured, balanced, fascinating....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2010

Verified Purchase

Refreshingly intelligent book, which trusts the reader and maintains a thoughtful and balanced tone throughout. The author explores the issues around fish pain, suffering and welfare, identifying the questions we might ask, the ways we might try to answer them, and what the answers really mean. At each stage the book gives clear but detailed descriptions of the scientific research supporting each conclusion, making the story accessible to non-specialists and crucially moving the text from a 'trust me, I know' harangue to a 'here's what we know' dialogue.
Considering the general philosophical issues around animal welfare as well as the scientific questions of what fish can experience, the book scrupulously fails to find a bogeyman or call for any knee-jerk instant solutions. Nonetheless, it raises some hard issues, and in a world where we're ready to pay more for free-range poultry, it may be timely to be hearing some unpalatable facts about many of the standard commercial fishing practices used to produce the fish on our plates.
Alongside the exploration of the book's main themes comes plenty of fascinating biology, including the extraordinary and rather delightful story of the grouper and the eel, which I've had to repeat to everyone since reading it. The author is a fish biologist, and the book tells a perhaps unintended third story, that of the scientific process, the honest search for the right question, and then the ingenuity and elegance applied to finding an answer. When the predominant exposure to science is about dramatic breakthroughs or headline-grabbing controversy, this readable, thoughtful and informative book is a tribute to the people quietly getting on with it, trying to find out how things really work. I'm grateful one of them has found the time to share the process, as well as raising some very important issues about our understanding of and interactions with these fascinating and diverse animals.

8 people found this helpful

Robin Clarke

Well Researched Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2010

Verified Purchase

I'm a zoology student. I've read about pain in mammals, amphibians and in birds. I was therefore interested to see what was the current opinion is on fish. As fish can't tell us whether they are in pain or not, they have to be observed in experiments. This well researched book, draws the conclusion that they are capable of feeling pain.

I'd certainly recommend this book for those interested in animal physiology like myself, and also for the general reader.

6 people found this helpful

不鯨

とても面白かった。

Reviewed in Japan on February 5, 2014

Verified Purchase

思った以上に面白かった。　基本的に平易な英文で書かれていますが脳の構造や神経、実験などに関する単語にある程度精通している方が更に読みやすいかと思います。

2 people found this helpful

Translate review to English

See all reviews

Do Fish Feel Pain? 1st Edition

Buy used: $25.95

Buy new: $49.95

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Customers who bought this item also bought

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy used:

$25.95

Buy new:

$49.95