Week in Review
Shark Finning in China, 2014 Pews Fellowship Award & Invertebrae Pain Research
Do lobsters feel
pain? Continued research yields new answers
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| Photo Credit: National Geographic |
Most animal lovers become queasy at the thought of
tossing a live lobster into a boiling pot of water as a main course for dinner
tonight. The idea of the lobster slowly boiling to death while you melt the
butter is pretty unappetizing actually, but the decade old question remains –
do the lobsters actually feel the pain? Many people would say no, they die instantly
and no pain is felt but new studies on crustaceans and other invertebrates may
prove otherwise.
Testing an animal’s reaction to pain in uncomfortable, to
say the least. How do you know if an animal is in pain? Researchers recently
ran tests on crabs, shrimp and squids to determine if they react to pain and
how. When acid was brushed on the antennae of a shrimp, the animal immediately
began to groom the area but when acid was applied after a local anesthetic, the
animal did not react. The results of this experiment would lead most people to
believe the animal is experiencing discomfort, but scientists took it a step
further. Crabs were placed in a brightly lit tank with two shelters, under
which they hid during the time that the lights were lit. While under the
shelters, the crabs were given an electric shock to see if they would give up a
basic necessity, shelter, due to pain. Eventually, the crabs retreated into the
light to avoid the shock. This tells researchers that not only do crustaceans
feel pain, but they are capable of juggling the need of a basic necessity over
the need to avoid pain and over time, they choose to avoid pain.
Sharp Decline of
Shark Processing Plant in Eastern China
China is one of the final countries to continue with the
killing of sharks in order to supply the country with the highly desired shark
fin soup. A bowl of shark fin soup may cost the consumer upwards of $65 USD,
creating a very lucrative market for Chinese fisherman who simply cut the
needed fins from the shark’s body and throw the still thrashing carcass back into
the sea to die. China’s demand for shark fin soup exploded in the early 80’s
and over 30 years later, we may finally be seeing a decline.
In 2013, international animal welfare groups shined a white
hot spotlight on the shark industry in Puqi. A full investigation lead to the
discovery of inhumane killings and the overfishing of protected species. In
addition, organizations urged the community to discontinue purchasing shark
bi-products and avoid eating shark-laced foods. These actions lead the shark
demand in Puqi to plummet, leaving only 4 factories to date. The decline in the shark finning business in
China has been seen as a victory by animal rights groups everywhere. While
although we may have won the battle in China, we are still fighting a war with
other irresponsible countries still practicing shark finning.
“Many shark species, including those listed on CITES,
simply can’t keep up with the current rate of exploitation and demand,” explains
Chapman. Chapman’s project would research different areas to see where more
advocacy is needed for those sharks protected by CITES. CITES has recently
added 5 new sharks to the protected list, including the Porbeagle, Oceanic
Whitetip and three types of Hammerhead sharks, while currently protecting over
30,000 other species of animals.
Photo & Information Credit:
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140312000007&cid=1505&MainCatID=0