Fish and animal cruelty problem

[Bombalurina]

Hi all

I'm in my final year of law here in Australia (5 year degree) and one of my electives is "Animals and the Law". So what else would I do but fish? :p I'm examining pet fish, farmed fish, and fishing at both a recreational and commercial level. I have all of the relevant legislation (most states include fish in their definition of animal, but some exclude crustaceans and SA expressly excludes fish). All states make a distinction between fishing and keeping pet fish.

I'm not looking for anyone to do the assignment for me, but I'd love to hear any insights, comments or "food-for-thoughts" from people on here. :)

[ZubinBetta]

I would guess that fish as topics of law are characterised in terms of property rights, whether personal property (pet fish) or natural resources to be enjoyed by a panoply of citizens (fish as fished). But you frame the question as one of (at least in part) animal cruelty. I'd be interested to read a legal account of what counts as cruelty to fish, because legislation is notoriously and unabashedly homocentric (perhaps of necessity) and chauvinistic towards other living things, except as they conduce to human enjoyment and well-being. So I'll spring for your elegant gambit!

[VJM]

I would be really interested in the application of existing animal welfare laws to the practices of pet fish breeding, especially as applied to importation. Given the latest EU ban on imported products that have been tested on animals, and China's requirement that imported products be tested on animals, a draft of trade legislation addressing the hobby fish industry would be really interesting.

But I am a lawyer, so draft legislation gets me all excited.