Citation

Author Website

carlsafina.org

Commentary Type

Open Commentary

Thread

Brian Key, Why fish do not feel pain

Abstract

A hypothesis like Key’s, that fish cannot feel pain, should really be stated as a null hypothesis — an assumption that there is no difference in the things being compared. Then evidence — including anecdotal evidence — for and against rejecting the null hypothesis can be examined and weighed. Key (2016a) has proven only that fish lack mammalian brains.

Author Biography

Carl Safina csafina@safinacenter.org is the inaugural endowed professor for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University, where he co-chairs the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and is founding president of the not-for-profit Safina Center. Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel is Carl’s seventh book. http://safinacenter.org/about-carl-safina/