Humans are often full of self-contradictions. When they see beached whales, they try to keep them moist, to transport them to deep waters for liberating them back into the seas. It’s a humongous rescue mission, but they see the worth of it. However, probably most of the same humans don’t bat an eyelid on the fact that smaller fish is regularly netted, brought out of their natural habitats and killed for their meals.
It is as if animals are worthy of compassion only when they are huge? I’ve heard of speciesism (‘racism’ by species), but this is ‘sizeism’ (preferential treatment by size)? Though bigger animals might feel greater pain due to having more complex nervous systems, animals are equally sentient, be they great or small. Pain is still pain. Just as we wouldn’t even want the pain from a tiny pin’s prick, why should we inflict even the smallest amount of pain on any other beings? Further out of the question is whether they ought to be killed for us.
Small as the sparrow is, it possesses all its internal organs.
We need Psychologists to analyze and answer such behaviours …
Maybe they don’t eat whales, involving in such movements will not affect them directly and make them happy too. Or maybe they are not aware that those smaller fishes need such movement too, not through liberating but stop the demand for it …
Crystal has a point! Maybe in Japan it will be different?
When I went to ocean park in Hong Kong, there was a really large aquarium with lots of huge fishes as big as a 30 inch tv screen. I overheard some people saying things about eating fish. =] So maybe it’s right when they say the compassion is limited to those you don’t eat? 😆