‘Jumping’ Fish Carcass Reminds Us That Every Animal Was Once Alive
A video of a yellowfin tuna fish—mutilated and sliced in half yet still flailing around—has recently gone viral.
In Japan and around the world, many fish killed for food are prepared through a process called ikejime. This method involves quickly inserting a spike into the fish’s brain to paralyze the animal. But as this video shows, the process can be botched.
Originally posted by Japanese Twitter user Yutaka Suzuki, the video captures the fish’s last moments, and for nearly two minutes, it looks as though this tuna refuses to die. But as one Twitter user pointed out, most likely, the movements are caused by involuntary muscle spasms because the fish’s nerve endings remain somewhat intact.
This incident reminds us that fish—and all meat—is the flesh of an animal who was capable of feeling pain just as we are.
Because animal flesh is often processed, cut into strips, ground up, or formed into nuggets, patties, and other shapes, it’s easy for people to forget that they’re eating the decaying body parts of a being who was once alive.
Fish enjoy companionship, develop relationships with each other, and even show affection by gently rubbing against each other. They have individual personalities, talk to each other, form bonds, and grieve when their companions die. They’re even capable of remembering past social interactions that they had with others.
When fish and other sea animals are pulled from the water, they undergo painful decompression. The survivors are then slowly suffocated, frozen, hacked apart while still conscious, or crushed by the weight of other dying animals.
Almost half of all fish killed for food spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy enclosures on commercial fish farms, and many suffer from parasitic infections, diseases, and debilitating injuries.
Choose compassion, and go vegan today.
PETA is calling on people everywhere to choose vegan meals and spare sensitive aquatic animals the agony of being impaled, crushed, cut open, and gutted.
Keep all animals off your plate by going vegan. We’ll help you get started:
