How Conscious Can A Fish Be?
• Sources & Credits: https://www.ryujichua.com/fish
Can fish feel pain? Are they intelligent? Are they even conscious?
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• Synopsis:
When it comes how we treat fish, there is a paradox with devastating consequences.
On one hand, fish are the animals that we kill in the largest number for food, by far. Even a conservative estimate of how many we kill yearly is about 2 trillion, which is 17 times the number of humans who have ever lived.
On the other hand however, fish are the animals we protect the least from cruelty and suffering, both culturally and legally. Culturally, yanking them out of the water and suffocating them is considered a fun day out, and legally most laws that protect animals exclude them altogether.
In practice, this means that out of all the animals we use for food, fish are the animals who most likely suffer the most, both in numbers and intensity.
And one of the reasons for this is our outdated and inaccurate perception of fish. Unlike dogs, cats, chickens and pigs who we recognize are individuals who feel, think and suffer, we often think of fish as primitive, stupid animals who can’t feel pain. This allows us to not only disregard their suffering, but to dismiss the conversation entirely by saying: “who cares? It’s just a fish”.
That’s why, in this film, we cover the evidence that suggests that fish feel, think and suffer, much like dogs, cats and other animals. We introduce you to the smartest fish in the world, delve deep into the twisted research that ‘s been done on pain in fish, and answer the age old question: “does a goldfish have a 3 second memory?”
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If you want to dive further into this topic, I highly recommend Jonathan Balcombe's book "What A Fish Knows". It was a huge inspiration for this video, and served as the starting point for my research.
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• Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
03:22 Chapter 1: Consciousness
07:18 Chapter 2: Intelligence
14:52 Chapter 3: Pain
25:20 Chapter 4: Why This All Matters
37:33 Closing Thoughts
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• About me:
Hi! I'm Ryuji, a filmmaker who seeks to create a kinder world by connecting humans with non human animals. I currently work as a video producer at Surge Activism, I’m an advisor for the Vegan Hacktivists, and I was recently featured on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to talk about animal rights and my latest independent documentary "How Conscious Can A Fish Be?".
• More from me:
My independent documentary “How Conscious Can a Fish Be”: • How Conscious Can A Fish Be?
My appearance on the daily show: • Ryuji Chua - Changing How We View Animals ...
My TEDx talk “Animals & the climate crisis: a missing perspective”: • Animals and the climate crisis: a missing ...
• Connect with me:
Instagram: / ryujichua
TikTok: ryujichua
Website: ryujichua.com
• Subtitles:
Spanish: Emma Bonilla (IG: @emmalicious_bonilla)
Japanese: Tosh (IG: @tosh_animalliberation)
Chinese: Wingyin (IG: @guardians_of_animals_hk)
German: Sissy (IG @redpoisonfox)
Portuguese: Sofia Rosas (IG @sofiaa.rosas)
Ukrainian: Вікторія Міхєєва (IG @viccc_s_)
Greek: Μυρτώ Βαρελά