Braithwaite Victoria. Do Fish Feel Pain?

New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 2010. — 194 p.My goal in writing this book has been to provide the background to promote informed discussion. Like other animal welfare debates, constructively arguing about fish welfare requires that we understand the issues, that we review evidence and discuss this appropriately. In the book, 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. I have no axe to grind — I choose to eat fish and I experiment on them, but while I have been fishing in the past, I am not an active angler though I have many friends and colleagues who are. As the book began to take shape it became clear that the fish pain debate probes questions about science, welfare and ethics. It draws us towards difficult, grey areas — if fish feel pain, then what about octopus, squid and lobsters — where do we draw the line? This might be the fi rst book in a series, or the next one might be the last.The Problem
What Is Pain and Why Does It Hurt?
Bee Stings and Vinegar: The Evidence That Fish Feel Pain
Suffer the Little Fishes?
Drawing the Line
Why It Took So Long to Ask the Fish Pain
Question — and Why It Must Be Asked
Looking to the Future