Chatigny Frederic
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island , Charlottetown , Canada.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2019 Oct-Dec;22(4):400-410. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2018.1530596. Epub 2018 Oct 15.
Fish welfare is still a relatively new field. As such, regulations and protocols to ensure fish welfare are currently limited and vary considerably in different jurisdictions. This is in part because of the ongoing controversy as to whether or not fish feel pain. This controversy has persisted for several years, yet veterinarians have been mostly absent from the discussion so far. This essay aims to address this issue. Here, it is argued that while this controversy has its place, it is unlikely to be resolved in the near future. Fish welfare could instead be improved by pursuing more clinically applicable research to increase knowledge of fishes' behavior and physiology. Such research would assist in learning the optimal environment for their specific needs, as well as compiling some verified indicators of pain in fish. This would then lead to improved studies that could help to determine if and when analgesic drugs can be beneficial in fish, as they are in many other species.
鱼类福利仍是一个相对较新的领域。因此，目前确保鱼类福利的法规和协议有限，且在不同司法管辖区差异很大。部分原因在于，对于鱼类是否能感知疼痛存在持续的争议。这场争议已经持续了数年，但到目前为止兽医大多未参与讨论。本文旨在解决这一问题。在此，有人认为，虽然这场争议有其存在的意义，但近期内不太可能得到解决。相反，通过开展更多临床适用的研究来增加对鱼类行为和生理的了解，鱼类福利有望得到改善。此类研究将有助于了解满足其特定需求的最佳环境，以及编纂一些经过验证的鱼类疼痛指标。这进而会促成更好的研究，有助于确定镇痛药是否以及何时能像对许多其他物种一样对鱼类有益。
