On a gloriously sunny spring day, a group of Gothenburgers gathered inside Nordstan to bring awareness about fish: Fish too are animals like pigs and dogs and cows. “We are gathered here to speak out for fishes or animals, in general against the oppression against them,” says Rebecca Larsson from Göteborg Fish Save which is part of Save Movement Sverige. “Gothenburg is a very popular for fishing and it is a good place to bring up the question, why it is okay for us to eat fish?”
“Is suffering of animals more like humans or less like humans?” asks Vineeth Kumar. And he adds by saying that human beings should consider that ‘the suffering of every animal is important’ not only cows and pigs.
Rebecca Larsson says there reaction from people is mixed: some say it is ridiculous and some are giving attention. One of the reasons for fish to get the attention like the cows and pigs and chickens is that they are relatively disconnected from people’s immediate surroundings. She explains, “Our main reason to be here is to make people to start thinking about it. We are conditioned not to think about it. We just go and buy the food we eat and we don’t have to think actually to go through about the animals. And with the fish we are so disconnected from us because we can’t see them on land and they are under water. So, we want people to be aware of it, to be aware of what they are eating and think about it.”
Göteborg Fish Save members do not force a conversation with passers-by but if they have a question they get an answer. “We don’t promote any fighting, we don’t call people like anything like … we just want to solve a problem that exists (and to solve it) together and we don’t want to work against people.”
Rebecca Larsson hails from a farming family and used to eat fish. She has also seen her grandfather fishing but over time she became sensitive to fish, and conscientious about fish. This led her to become an active member of Göteborg Fish Save. She believes fish too have feelings. ““It is hard to say exactly the defined feelings they have but I do know they have behaviours. They feel pain and they suffer. They have families and they stick together, some of them … their whole lives while some of them live differently. They are sentient beings with hearts and brains … they definitely have feelings.”
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