Six Hive SBI Units to Be Gifted and, Do Fish Feel Pain? My Collage for LMAC #201

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201 lakd pier lunapic13a.png

This week's template for the LMAC Collage Contest at first made me think of a convocation, maybe a coven of witches casting a spell in the night. That theme, or a related theme, became quite popular among our artists. So I went in a different direction.

Template for LMAC #201
B0v3zlJ - Imgur.jpg

If you look at the picture, you notice the circular area surrounded by wood. I turned that into a raft. I used the plank on the near side of the circle to create a floor for the raft.

201 raft 1.gif

Now I was ready to created my scene. I looked at the LIL Gallery and found a lovely lake scene by @eimy7. I started by putting a raft in the middle of the lake. As you can see from the finished collage, this was many steps away from the end.

201 lake raft for blog.jpg

Sources I used to complete the collage: From LIL

From Pixabay I borrowed

A Few Words About Fishing

Rainbow Trout Under Water
Rainbow trout Engbretson Eric, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service public.jpg
Credit: Engbretson Eric, Us Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.

Fishing. Doesn't it look peaceful in my collage? According to an article(Fly-Fishing and the Brain) I found on hms.Harvard.edu, "Fly fishing has been compared to meditation". The activity counters stress and has a "calming effect".

Another article, in Ecosystems and People*, outlines lower stress levels and better sleep scores for people who engage regularly in recreational fishing. The scores improved with the number of hours spent fishing.

All good for people, right? But what about the fish?

Fish and Pain
Do fish feel pain? When we catch them and throw them back in the water, is that a painful experience for them? How can we know? There are many researchers who claim that we can't know, for sure, because we don't know if fish have consciousness. Without consciousness, they assert, there can't be suffering. Without suffering, they say, there can't be pain.

Atlantic Cod
Cod NOA public.jpg
Credit: NOA, Unknown author. Public domain.

On the other hand, many studies have demonstrated that fish demonstrate avoidance behavior when challenged with painful stimuli (if fish could feel pain). For example, an article on sentientmedia.com describes a fish's reaction to being injected with acid (!!!). They definitely showed an aversion to this. Another article I found on the humaneleague.org website looked at nociceptors (pain sensory receptors) that are abundant in a fish's mouth and lips. When the fish's lips were injected with acid, "The fish swam slower, decreased social activities, delayed eating, and rubbed their lips against the glass walls of the tank or in the sand along the bottom".

Both articles that describe pain in fish are, to be honest, what might be called pro-fish, or animal rights organizations. If their advocacy throws their conclusions into doubt for the reader, one can refer to research articles I unearthed. The links below this passage lead to two of these articles. In each of the articles, objective scientific methods are cited. In both cases, authors admit that we cannot know for sure if fish feel pain, as we humans understand it, but in both cases the authors assert that it is very possible and even likely that fish do feel pain. In that case, it would be more ethical and moral to behave as though fish do feel pain.

1.https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/218/7/967/14518/Pain-in-aquatic-animals
2.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfb.15386

Hive SBI Up for Grabs

I have so much fun making collages that I decided to tempt others to try their hand. This invitation is only for those who have never made a collage for LMAC. If you have never made a collage for LMAC, but have been tempted, I up the ante this week. For the first three new contributors to the contest I will gift two Hive SBI units, each. Tag me, during the next LMAC contest round (Round #202). The round runs from Thursday until Monday. I will check out your blog and if it's true, you will receive two Hive SBI in your wallet. Only one gift per person. I hope to catch some of my own 'fish' this week.

LMAC and LIL

LIL is not only a valuable image resource for the Hive community, but is also a way for community members to participate in LMAC. Anyone on Hive can contribute to the library and everyone can borrow from it. Learn about the procedure here.

Every week we offer prizes to fifteen finalists in the contest, but it's not only the prizes people create for. I, for example don't compete, but spend hours giving vent to my imagination. Others in the community have developed the habit of 'speaking' through collage.

As @shaka has said many times, everyone is an artist. I may not be an artist in the technical sense, but LMAC allows me to nurture my own unique artistic voice.

Thank you for reading. Peace and health to all.

letsmakeacollage fish science animals pain art community nature proofofbrain creativecoin
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17 comments
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This is a wonderful Collage , it looks natural.

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It is a beautiful finale design for your art production
Peace

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I love the design
Keep it up!

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(Edited)

Que curioso, yo también pensé en una reunión de brujas, cuando vi la imagen, je je je; Pero la ronda pasada mi collage fue de brujos, así que tome otro rumbo esta vez.
Tu collage muy bien hecho como siempre; Buena información la que nos dejaste aquí, gracias por compartirla, saludos amiga!

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Gracias, @inessita 🌷

I like you collage very much. It's pleasant to look at and right now, I want to see rainbows instead of clouds :))

Have a great weekend, y saludos también!

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Hi @agmoore 🖖🙂

First of all, I am delighted with the way you present how you created your collage. Perfect for LMAC beginners to get a basic understanding of how to create an own one.

And your collage is no less an eye-catcher! 👍
I very much like this kind of illustrative style because it gives the artwork a clear language. Your collage is a again wonderful springboard into your title topic.
Great work!

When I was younger, I often had to slaughter. It was necessary and absolutely not for fun.
The one thing I didn't have to learn, it was my obsession from the very beginning, not to let the source of my food suffer pain and anxiety. Because they were always around me and some of them were my friends.
All people who have animal friends know that they can feel pain, all of them. It's just different how they express their pain.
I'm absolutelly sure of that. So I very much welcome the efforts of science to bring clarity to this matter for mankind
Very good topic!!!

🤗

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All people who have animal friends know that they can feel pain, all of them

Of course. Sometimes people like to get legalistic and bogged down in terms and definitions. What is suffering? We all know it and don't need a philosopher to explain it. I think the justifications just make it easy for people to carry on and do what they want.

Thank you, friend @quantumg, for your kind words about my collage. From the beginning, from my first collage, I realized I couldn't do what some people do. But then, it's not really art if I'm trying to be someone else, is it? I have fun and sometimes it works. I'm very happy you think it worked this time.

I appreciate the insightful words. Always a pleasure when you stop by. Have a great week. I may not be around too much but I'll be checking in.

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Great topic, A.G. You are such a wonderful influence with your encouragement and help to anyone interested in making collages.
I often wonder ( and feel bad) about how much pain the smaller species feel, such as, when I quash a fly, ant or other type of insect that has invaded the house. It would be like a giant put his huge hand on our head and killed us.
Thanks for including my lil image in your lovely creation. I like how you used the wood to make the rafts. 😊
March came in like a lion but temps are warming up now. Take care my friend.

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Hello dear @redheadpei, I read this message and answered in my head but never wrote the response! I'm distracted these days. My husband had surgery on Tuesday (was it Tuesday? I lose track). He is home now and I'm trying to keep up with my activities but it's a challenge.

Thank you for that response. I know you would feel for the fish. It doesn't make any sense that they wouldn't feel pain, maybe not as we experience it, but pain. And when they are allowed to suffocate out of water, they suffer (although some scientists would object to my use of that term).

I loved your images. You are a great resource on LIL. So much character in your pictures :)

I"m glad it's warming up in your neck of the woods. Here I'm finally hearing birds sing. It's wonderful :)

Have a happy weekend my friend.

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Hi A.G. Having a husband recovering from surgery is enough to make anyone forget everything else.
Please give him my good wishes for a speedy recovery. ♥️
From my experience with animals they certainly feel pain, loneliness, happiness and sadness.

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Encouraging other Hivers to debut with a collage is very nice of you.

You leave me thinking about recreational fishing. I've never understood recreational fishing or recreational hunting, and I don't think I ever will; even if none of the "prey" felt pain, it seems obvious to me that they're subjected to unnecessary stress, while people become less sensitive not only to their own stress but to life in general. People could meditate or go for a massage, or try to contribute to make the world a less stressing place for all of us creatures.

It's always nice to read you. Hope you're having a good week ❤️

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(Edited)

people become less sensitive not only to their own stress but to life in general

Yes!!! An important point. It brutalizes us to participate in such cruel activity without understanding that it is cruel.

I love your comment. Thank you very much, friend @marlyncabrera

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It's a very special time. I also enjoy going fishing with friends like this.

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Wonderful collage. Love it!. The fishing not so much. I've never understood why anyone would want to eat something so stinky. As to the pain question, it can hardly be pleasant to have a hook embedded in your flesh and it'd certainly leave a nasty wound and play havoc with your dating prospects, if you didn't die of course which it seems is the fate of many a hooked and released little fishy.

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Hello @deirdyweirdy my friend,

Sorry about the late response. I did read your comment and was sure I responded, but no, I didn't! Just catching up on stuff I missed over the last week. A distracting time in my home.

it can hardly be pleasant to have a hook embedded in your flesh

One would think that's obvious, no? But then we tell ourselves tales that allow us to take the convenient path. People like to sit outside and hang a pole over the water. Fish feelings be damned.
I have read that they do die after being hooked. Not surprising. Can't we just look at the fish. Why are humans so territorial that they have to assert ownership over everything?

I'm glad you like my collage. Simple and direct, and direct, just like me :))

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