Despite the pervasive stereotype that fish are stupid creatures, fish are no less intelligent than their terrestrial fellows. A recent article by Vox.com highlights yet more scientific findings, this time from biologist Culum Brown, to support this truth.
While the belief that fish possess only a three-second memory and don’t feel pain is still ingrained in popular thought, evidence to the contrary is growing stronger all the time.
The article details a multitude of fish abilities, including their ability to “learn from each other, recognize other fish they’ve spent time with previously, know their place within fish social hierarchies, and remember complex spatial maps of their surroundings.” As Brown has written, there is even some evidence that “they use tools.”
This cognitive ability means that far from being oblivious to the abuses inflicted on them by cruel factory farming systems, fish undoubtedly experience their victimization as much as any other animal raised for consumption. It’s time we started giving consideration to fish, and left them off our plates.
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