*Trigger Warning: Animal Cruelty*
Animal Equality has urged the government to include fish welfare as an objective in the National Fisheries Policy after presenting a study that exposed the cruel and illegal practices in the fishery and aquaculture sector.
Animal Equality documented several fish and shrimp farms, hatcheries and fish markets from February 2019 to May 2020 in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, which are known for their fish production.
Amruta Ubale, Senior Director of Public Affairs at Animal Equality, said, “It is appalling to see that there are no welfare standards followed in fish production. Overcrowding, lack of veterinary care, sale of live fish at markets and using methods of knocking to slaughter fish are some of the many abusive practices uncovered. Many of these practices violate the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
“The objective of the study is to urge the government to introduce welfare measures for aquatic animals. Animal Equality has presented these findings to the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, along with a list of recommendations to reduce the suffering of fish. Some of these include adequate space allocation, making veterinary care mandatory, stunning fish before slaughter and stopping transport and sale of live fish.”
The study exposed:
- The cycle of cruelty begins with a process called “Fish Milking” in which the eggs from a female fish are squeezed out by hand.
- Thousands of fish are bred in small ponds — overcrowded and prone to diseases.
- Fish that reach the market are sold in very unhygienic conditions.
- The traditional method for killing farmed fish is to asphyxiate them by leaving them out of the water or on ice, leading to a slow and agonising death.
- Their gills are cut without prior stunning, resulting in them bleeding to death.
- Some species of fish, like catfish, are kept alive and slaughtered at the market.
- Conscious catfish were violently clubbed several times in order to slaughter them.
- Fish production also violates human rights. Children were seen slaughtering fish.
- Fish farms adopt water-intensive practices for sustenance and pump out large quantities of groundwater that comes from rivers leading to drastic reductions in the water table in the region.
- Fishery and aquaculture farms require large tracts of land in areas with an abundance of water, reducing the agricultural yield from these areas.
The reality is that animals are not afforded adequate protection in our food system and the abuse Animal Equality filmed is unfortunately commonplace in the fishery and aquaculture industry. Please sign and share the petition urging the government to take action.