| Quinn |
06-01-2003 06:58 AM |
here are my thoughts on this issue:
i do feel bad for fish stuck in small aquariums. however, i feel worse about:
-the fact that north american, european or japanese reefers will pay $4000 so that a philipino will risk his life to catch us a fish (tack on the whole sweat shop thing here as well).
-the fact that many of us are probably happy to eat atlantic salmon, etc., which as far as i know are more threatened than percula (or is it ocellaris) clownfish.
we must take care to avoid a double standard.
i do not feel that fish have the mental capacity to understand their restricted living quarters, whether it is a 10 gallon or a 500 gallon. i think that the smartest among them, triggers, puffers, get to the point of recognizing the set of stimuli that lead to food, a la pavlov's dogs, but i don't think they suffer, nor do i think that they have the capacity to understand pain, regardless of whether they feel it or not (as far as i am concerned, there is a difference between an organism reacting instinctually to pain, and actually quantifying and therefore suffering from it).
i do not think our status as the most "intelligent" organism on the planet gives us the right to abuse other living things. however we are human, and as per the american constitution, the pursuit of pleasure is a big part of our existence. we could solve this nemo problem by banning saltwater aquaria, but what would that accomplish? we tread a fine line. but in the grand scheme of things, i feel this is unavoidable. who are we, as "responsible" reefers, to deny a nine year old a learning experience. perhaps, like me, ten years later, that child will look back and say, "gee, i guess putting fifteen (fluorescent dyed) fish in a five gallon aquarium was a bad thing", and gain something from it.
the above is just some ideas that popped into my head as i read over the previous posts. i don't think i agree with all my points, but it's food for thought, at least.
|
