Animal Equality infiltrated tilapia farms in Mexico for the first time and uncovered the suffering of these animals at the hands of aquaculture due to the lack of laws protecting them from cruelty.

In Mexico, according to the National Service of Health, Safety and Agri-Food Quality of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, there are no "Mexican Official Standards or other regulations that regulate the sanitary processing of fish meat and other aquatic animals." And the National Commission of Fisheries and Aquaculture (CONAPESCA) claims that they leave them to die of asphyxiation out of the water despite evidence that the fish feel pain.

Our investigators documented shocking scenes showing the cruel practices, including:

- baby fish handled violently, killed by being crushed by the weight of others and, like the females, discarded as they are not considered economically profitable;
- up to 400 kg of fish packed into the same container and crushed against each other;
- cannibalism: In one of the farms, the operators mentioned that the fish had not been fed for at least 6 months, so they began to eat each other;
- how injured fish are thrown into the trash or used as food for other animals;
- witnessing the larger 2-4 year old fish being left on the floor to die from suffocation;
- switching fish from one tank to another over a 6-8 hour period, during which they kept the fish with little oxygen, exposed to direct sunlight and with so little water that they could barely change position or move around.

Killed While Fully Conscious:
In addition to the deplorable hygienic and sanitary conditions in which the fish are forced to live in the farms investigated, it is common practice in the industry for them to be killed without being stunned. Only in one farm did they try to do so using ice, but with an inadequate method that only prolonged the stress and suffering of these sensitive animals.

Similarly, their organs are removed while they are still conscious, and even after this, some show signs of life such as opening their mouths, expanding their gills and wriggling.

Fish Feel:
According to Dr. Lynne Sneddon, Director of Bioveterinary Sciences at the University of Liverpool, fish experience pain on a level comparable to mammals. And behaviorally, they also exhibit some of the same traits as mammals: forming relationships, remembering their own actions, making decisions (i.e. evaluating risks and benefits), expressing emotions (experiencing positive and negative affective states) and also having some level of consciousness.

Despite this evidence, fish have no legal protections in Mexico. In fact, the Federal Animal Health Law does not even recognize them as animals and the norms that establish methods of transport, stunning and slaughter do not apply to them.

"The practices that are applied to fish for breeding and consumption would be considered illegal if they were used with land-raised animals such as cows and pigs, yet they are practiced regularly and there is no legislation to prevent it." - Dulce Ramirez, Director of Igualdad Animal México

Unlike other countries where there are laws that do not allow fish to be subjected to cruel treatment, in Mexico there is no regulation on fish welfare, neither mandatory nor voluntary certifications. Leaving the fish in the hands of people who are not trained properly or trained on the specific needs of species, means more immense suffering for these animals.

Even if their moans and cries of pain cannot be heard by us, it is clear that fish feel pain and do not want to suffer.

Please support our investigations that educate consumers and help change laws for animals: AnimalEquality.org/donate

Other Animal Equality investigations:

🔴 Animals Killed While Conscious at US Catfish Slaughterhouse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLmzCvb8kqc

🔴 Fish Killed While Fully Conscious in Scottish Salmon Slaughterhouse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2uyP74I1EU

🔴 The Cruel and Illegal Practices of India's Fishing Industry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpsxZA876UE

Please watch and share, and leave animals off your plates.

#fishindustry #tilapia #fishfarming

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Asphyxiated: Cruel Disregard for Fish in Mexico's Aquaculture Industry

Categories General Pets & Animals

Tags Animal Cruelty animal equality animal protection animal protectors animal rights animal welfare aquatic animals breaking news defend animals do fish feel pain fish fish feel fishing fishing industry help animals new investigation protect animals reasons to ditch fish reasons to go vegan save the oceans seafood suffocated tilapia tilapia farms Undercover Footage vegan for the animals what's wrong with fish yt:cc=on

Transcript (English — en)

Animal equality has gone
undercover on tilapia farms in Mexico
for the first time, exposing
how cruelty is standard practice
due to the lack of federal laws
protecting fish.
The National Service of Health, Safety
and Agrifood Quality of the Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development, confirms
that there are no Mexican official standards
or other regulations governing the sanitary
processing of fish and other
aquatic animal meat.
While the National Commission of Fisheries
and Aquaculture acknowledges
that fish are left out of water
to suffocate to death, despite evidence
that fish feel pain.
It's common
to find ponds and containers
with large numbers of fish, which worsens
the quality of water, causing them to become
sick, suffer injuries, or die.
Our investigators
documented rough handling
during transport that caused injuries.
Hundreds of fish are stuffed
into the same container,
crushed against each other.
Those that fall to the ground are left to die,
and sick fish are left to die of asphyxiation.
During the change from one tank to another,
this is repeated. The fish are exposed
to direct sunlight for six to eight hours
with so little water
they can hardly move.
Tilapia fish are social animals
that establish their group hierarchy
through the control of their territory,
so changing ponds causes them extreme stress.
And most of the time, serious injuries.
Another example of the indifference
shown to the needs of these animals
and their suffering was when a farm worker
commented that the fish had not been
fed for months
and had begun to eat each other to survive.
Fish suffer into the last moment
when they are killed
without being previously stunned.
Only one farm tried
to stun the fish by adding ice to the water,
but it was done in effectively
only prolonging the stress
and suffering of the animals.
Their guts are often removed
while they are still conscious.
After all this,
some fish still show signs of life
by opening their mouths,
expanding their gills and squirming.
At the end of the whole process,
some are still alive.
Even if we can't hear their screams,
fish are animals and they feel.
Their pain is evident, and they urgently
need our help.