Re: Fish can't feel pain ?

["Jay Moylan" <moylanj at bellsouth_net>]

        I wish to add a thought here.  To exemplify John Locke's concept of
empiricism, I have personally observed fish in obvious pain.  Is it the same
kind of pain experience we have?  Of course not.  But it is obvious pain.
Here is another morsel for the list to chew.  I suspect that fish and even
arthropods can feel pleasure too in some primitive form.  Why else would
they spawn or copulate?  It is not an activity that in any way helps these
organisms survive as individuals.  Indeed, breeding behaviors often expose
animals to easier predation.  Think of the little "trance" that female
bettas experience while releasing eggs.  Or those birds that hop 4 feet in
the air during courtship.  Or the animals that exibit bright colors only
during breeding.  If they didn't experience some kind of pleasure reward,
there is no reason for them to risk their survival and expend large amounts
of energy on reproducing.

Jay Moylan


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