Do fish feel pain, actually? This episode Shelby and Justine dive into the research that shares the arguments on both fish feeling and not feeling pain.
Do fish feel pain, actually? This episode Shelby and Justine dive into the research that shares findings on both fish feeling and not feeling pain.
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Intro/Outro Music by: Gentle Jammers (AudioJungle)
References:
Ashley PJ, Sneddon LU, McCrohan CR. 2007. Nociception in fish: stimulus–response properties of receptors on the head of trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Brain research, 1166: 47-54
Ashley PJ, Ringrose S, Edwards KL, McCrohan CR, Sneddon LU. 2009. Effect of noxious stimulation upon antipredator responses and dominance status in rainbow trout. Anim. Behav. 77(2): 403–410. (doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.10.015)
Key B. 2016. Why fish do not feel pain. Animal Sentience 1(3): 1.
Maximino C. 2011. Modulation of nociceptive-like behavior in zebrafish (Danio rerio) by environmental stressors. Psychology & Neuroscience 4(1): 149-155.
Miriam-Webster Dictionary: September 1st, 2026 Consciousness. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consciousness. Accessed September 2026
Miriam-Webster Dictionary. August 27th, 2026. Pain. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pain. Accessed September 2026.
Newby NC, Stevens ED. 2008. The effects of the acetic acid ‘‘pain’’ test on feeding, swimming, and respiratory responses of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 114(1-2): 260–269
Rose JD, Arlinghaus R, Cooke SJ, Diggles BK, Sawynok W, Stevens ED, Wynne CD. 2014. Can fish really feel pain?. Fish and Fisheries 15(1): 97-133.
Schmidt RF. 1986. Nociception and Pain. In: Schmidt, R.F. (eds) Fundamentals of Sensory Physiology. Springer Study Edition. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-82598-9_4
Sneddon LU. 2003. The evidence for pain in fish: the use of morphine as an analgesic. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 83(2): 153-162.
Sneddon LU, Braithwaite VA, Gentle MJ. 2003. Do Fishes Have Nociceptors? Evidence for the Evolution of a Vertebrate Sensory System. Proceedings: Biological Sciences 270(1520): 1115–1121. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3558836
Sneddon LU. 2009. The effects of the acetic acid “pain” test on feeding, swimming, and respiratory responses of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): a critique on Newby and Stevens (2008). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 116(1): 96-97.
Tracey WD. 2017. Nociception. Current Biology 27(4): R129-R133.