Fish die in euphoric state?

[clementine]

I was talking to my friend the other day and she told me that she understands why I don't want to consume animal products- because I want to reduce suffering- but she said fish is something that God gave to us to eat, so it is okay to eat. She then justified that by saying when fish are out of the water they enter this euphoric state because the oxygen is so abundant compared to in the water... so they do not feel pain if they die. Has anyone heard of this? What do you think?

[DiaShel]

That is completely ridiculous! Both things. Fish have gills, they can't breath air. That's why the die when you take them out of the water.

[Risker]

Yup, when a fish is removed from water their gills collapse, suffocating them. That means no oxygen, not more.

As for 'god said it was ok' well that's just the most idiotic argument for anything ever.

Just sounds like self justification.

[harpy]

What is her evidence that they're in a euphoric state? (I would have thought there was quite a lot of evidence to the contrary )

[clementine]

I agree with you guys, there is no way fish could die pain free or experience less pain than any other animal when they die... having a hook ripped through their mouth and yanked out into a foreign environment and suffocating to death doesn't sound pain free to me.

[matt35mm]

So we're agreed. Your friend must die.

[Risker]

I agree with you guys, there is no way fish could die pain free or experience less pain than any other animal when they die... having a hook ripped through their mouth and yanked out into a foreign environment and suffocating to death doesn't sound pain free to me.

From documentaries I've seen suffocating to death would be an improvement for most commercially caught fish.

[sandra]

Would your friend be in a 'euphoric state' if we plunged her head into water and held her there?

[Zero]

I would inform your friend that murder is still murder; whether it is done in the "nicest" way possible, on a bed of roses or in a state of euphoria.

If you stop someone from breathing you are responsible for their death.

(Your friend has also clearly not bothered to research how fish breathe either)

[Gorilla]

i would just reiterate what everyone else has said - fish cannot breathe the oxygen in the air so they simply suffocate, i don't believe there's any scientific evidence that would suggest suffocation brings on a state of euphoria.

would your friend think it's ok to eat other animals if they were killed while in a 'state of euphoria'? is it ok to kill people if you make them really happy before you do it?

people will also use the 'God says we can/can't do x' argument to justify or condemn pretty much anything they want.

[MarkAnthony]

Isn't it true that if a human suffocates you do actually feel a wave of euphoria as you start to pass out and your brain shuts down? Could also be true for fish, or could just be an urban legend.

In neither case of course does it in any way justify the several minutes of torment as whichever animal struggles for air, or the killing itself. So it's completely irrelevant anyway.

[horselesspaul]

The clue is in the word "die".

[harpy]

Even if we could find a fish that had had a near-death experience, I doubt if it would tell us whether it had felt euphoric. That's one reason it seems such a strange claim.

[JC]

Has your friend ever seen a fish when it's dragged out of the water? I won't go into detail, but the enormous amount of pressure does some pretty nasty stuff to their eyes and internal organs, not my idea of euphoria...

It's really annoying when people see fish as more insignificant than other animals -pescatarian?! Pah!! It's like people who go round killing insects, because they're smaller. Right, so the pain is therefore depreciated?? Per-lease!

[Johnstuff]

[quote=MarkAnthony;557680]Isn't it true that if a human suffocates you do actually feel a wave of euphoria as you start to pass out and your brain shuts down? quote]

Possibly, but you'd have to be in a calm state of mind. Hypervenitilation before hand to get rid of CO2 (that mainly causes the urge to breathe) could mean that you'd simply pass out without much warning.

A forced suffocation would probably be quite different in that the fish/human would be panicing like mad, desperate to get back to safety - not a plesant way to go.

I'm not into suffocation or anything weird like that, but I do freediving (breath hold diving) so I know I little more of what it feels like to stop breathing.

I think pulling the fish out of the sea and then just leaving them in distress is very cruel.

[bryzee86]

So we're agreed. Your friend must die.

this is one of the funniest things i've read on this forum in a fucklong time!

[bradders]

I can't believe what goes through some people's minds sometime it's quite ridiculous.
Oxygen depletion can induce euphoria in humans but it can also cause heightened panic, pain and of course DEATH!