Can fish sense pain the same way as humans?

[dafack01 0]

Not that the outcome will change my mind about fishing or anything, but do fish sense pain the same way as humans?

 

 

My thinking is No. Why? A couple reasons. If fish sensed pain the same way as humans do, they would react a lot more violently to ripping a barbed hook back through their mouths (before releasing them). What do they do? Nothing. If someone ripped a barbed hook through my mouth, I'd be kicking and screaming like a banshee, wether I was tired or not.

 

Number 2: If fish evolved with a healthy appetite for crawfish and hellgrammites (which can pinch back), panfish and bass (which have spines on their dorsal fins), and catfish (who have spines on their dorsal and pectoral fins), wouldn't it be logical to assume that the prey will try to fight back in the mouth of the predator, thus poking and pinching them? And if they STILL eat these items day in and day out, wouldn't it be logical to assume that they can't feel pain like humans?

 

I've read a couple studies about it on the net, one scottish study involving bee venom and acetic acid on the mouths of rainbow trout (which concluded that fish can sense pain like us) and another massive study by some guy at the University of Wyoming concluding that fish to not have the part of the brain (the neo-cortex) to sense pain like us, thus concluding that fish do not have the brain capacity to sense pain like us.

[David M 0]

NO

[Flytyer-1 0]

No! And they don't use toilet paper either!

 

Best from Nashville-

 

Stack Scoville

[Steeldrifter 0]

NO

[Houdini 0]

The answer is you'd have to be a fish to know for sure. Brain development doesn't seem to be sufficient to have the pain centers we are familiar with but there may be some more primitive structure serving the function. Me, I'm not worried about it and as I hunt higher life forms (deer, etc.) I have more or less decided that even if they do experience it, they don't have the ability to recall it. Again, it's brain structure.

Bottom line, I don't paticularly care. I eat things that I or someone else killed - I'm a predator.

[Sean Juan 0]

I'm going to say yes with a qualifier.

 

Fish sense pain they way God intended - meaning when a fish feels a hook in its mouth its brain is signaled to alert it that something is wrong and it is in danger for its life. This is the same for human's - in the strictest sense.

 

Human's however have imagination - which allows them to live beyond the moment - when a human suffers an injury not only do they feel it then but they can compound this by imagining how it will feel the next day the next hour. This is further complicated by emotional reactions to the injury - some people can literally make themselves worse (or better) simply by power of thought - fish don't feel sorry for themselves nor do they entertain thoughts of regret or of hope.

 

 

[Joe Hard 0]

I realy think the same way as Sean Juan most is a reaction of survivial, but the question is do they feel pain like humans do. No there brains are differnt. They must sense some sort of pain although many experts say no. I think having an earing or a lip ring is very simmilar to being hooked. People have them and claim they dont hurt. They have them in more sensitive places as well. As far as fish not feeling pain at all why the spikes on the finns and other defense items on fish and other species fish eat.

[day5 0]

NO

I second that!!

And they don't use toilet paper either!

I hear in some river that they eat it!!! ($#!+ fly)

 

 

I heard some whacky peta coHO talking BS about how fisherman are wrong for tricking fish to impale them selfs on a hook and then drag them out of there enviorment! oh boo hoo hoooo I added in my head "sometimes I cut there gills and let them bleed out in the river before I lop them up in to little chuncks and cover them with spices cook them over fire and eat them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHHAHAHA"" :devil: :devil: :devil: She thought fisher man should got anger managemt classes and serve some sort of time after they make it against the law to fish!!! HAHAHA

[dafack01 0]

NO

I didn't mean to imply anything by the post. I was just wondering. I love fishing and the fish have never seemed to mind being unhooked, so I'll catch 'em again!

[Steeldrifter 0]

I know, and I wasnt implying that you did dafack01 I just have seen PeT@ propaganda about fish feeling pain so anytime I see someone talking about it I just get a little unnerved over it

[chrislorne 0]

I'm not too sure, I think fish feel pain to a certain degree, I know bass have a very tough mouth, they'd have too, it would hurt to eat crawfish I'd think, so they wouldn't eat them, but then again, isn't peta thinking about the poor crawfish, that must suck to get eaten by a big bass. Ok peta, I'll teach those bass a lesson for hurting those poor crawfish, next time I catch a bass, I'll give it a smack!!!! :hyst:

[vices 0]

Wow, I'm all for protecting the environment, I mean dont take more than you need kinna thing.. I'm going to have to say, till the day they make a machine that can read the mind of a fish.. It's all in your head.. I think they feel pain, probably not the same way we do, they come from a completely different environment. Do I care, a little.. Will I stop fishing? No, I am a predator.. for me not to would be unnatural I kill and eat things.. thats what i was built for. What I will not do is pick, slice and eat those poor little potatoes..