Aquarium Hobbyists Exposed: Watch 'The Dark Hobby' - PETA
Aquarium Hobbyists Exposed: Watch 'The Dark Hobby' - PETA |
| Aquarium Hobbyists Exposed: Watch 'The Dark Hobby' - PETA Posted: 21 May 2021 12:19 PM PDT Remember what happened to Nemo? Watching The Dark Hobby will refresh your memory: He was torn away from his home and family and relegated to an aquarium in a dentist's office. By way of Pixar magic, he was reunited with his father in the end, but that's not the case for the billions of fish who are abducted from their homes and die shortly afterward in an aquarium hobbyist's tank. The eye-opening documentary The Dark Hobby exposes how industry workers take fish from their ocean homes and sell them for people to buy as "pets" for their personal aquariums. At any given moment, 27 million aquatic individuals are in the aquarium pipeline—which begins the moment they're captured and taken from the only life they've ever known and simultaneously stripped of their family and freedom.
 Violence and Death Are Inherent in the Capturing of Live FishProfit-driven divers in Hawaii catch as many tropical fish as possible in this virtually unregulated industry, decimating coral reefs—which rely on these very fish for survival. The Dark Hobby chronicles the commercial aquarium trade's history in that state and addresses the high mortality rates for captive fish, the effects of cyanide on reefs, and fish's cognitive capabilities.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported in 2008 that up to 90% of saltwater fish brought to the U.S. for display are caught illegally by dousing coral reefs with cyanide—which asphyxiates fish. Studies have shown that as many as 75% of fish poisoned with cyanide die within hours of collection, and another 30% die before they're ever shipped. In The Dark Hobby, interviews with PETA, marine biologists, ethologist Jonathan Balcombe, and other activists shed light on just how shockingly unsustainable this industry is. Taking Fish From Their Homes Is SpeciesistTaking fish from their natural habitat only to disregard their needs, stick them in a tank, and use them as decoration is an example of human supremacy. Fish are sensitive beings who lead complex and fascinating lives. They communicate with each other using a variety of sounds that we can't hear without special instruments and have courting and mating rituals and problem-solving skills. They're highly evolved beings who have been around for half a billion years and can irrefutably feel pain and even get lonely and frustrated. They're just like us—or rather, we're just like them—so they can absolutely experience pleasure, loss, and a wide variety of emotions.
These tropical fish, who were born to dwell in the majestic seas and forage among brilliantly colored coral reefs, suffer miserably when they're forced to spend their lives in glass tanks. A whopping 99% of them die within a year of captivity, thus perpetuating demand for the cruel trade. Kidnapping and Selling Fish Is Devastating the EcosystemMost saltwater fish can't be bred in captivity, so up to 98% of those sold in pet stores come from people who capture them in their ocean homes. Some species of fish that used to be sold as "pets" have been completely wiped out. That's because anyone can become a fish diver. As stated in The Dark Hobby, the only barrier is a pulse and $50.
How You Can HelpYou can take action for fish by gathering your friends and family to screen this important film and pledging not to support this hideous trade. Watch the documentary on your smart TV or computer—or remotely with friends while chatting over Zoom, Facebook Messenger, or FaceTime. The film will be available on Apple TV, iTunes, Vudu, YouYube, and Google Play. After You've Watched 'The Dark Hobby,' Host a 'Seaspiracy' Netflix Party |
| Norwegian poultry producer bars Brazilian soy due to deforestation risk - Mongabay.com Posted: 21 May 2021 09:19 AM PDT
Gårdsand, a Norwegian poultry producer, has developed a new feed recipe that excludes Brazilian soy due to concerns about deforestation risk. According to Rainforest Foundation Norway, an organization that campaigns on forest issues like deforestation linked to commodity supply chains, Gårdsand reformulated its poultry feed as a response to rising deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Gårdsand has now completely eliminated soy from its supply chain, using other sources of protein. "We've followed the situation in Brazil with increasing concerns over the past years," said May Iren Varlid Aarvold, Marketing Leader at Gårdsand, in a statement. "Forest fires and deforestation numbers keep escalating at an alarming rate. Knowing that soy production is a driver behind the ongoing deforestation, we find the risk of including this commodity in our supply to be so high that we've excluded soy entirely from our supply chain, and shifted to other protein sources." Poultry fed with Gårdsand's new recipe are labelled "produced without soy – for the sake of tropical forests" in Norway's "Meny" supermarkets under the "Lerstang" brand.  Gårdsand's move follows a decision last year by Bremnes Seashore, a salmon producer, to exclude Brazilian soy from its fish feed, while the soy suppliers to the Norwegian aquaculture companies Caramuru, Imcopa and CJ Selecta have indicated they will do the same. Norway has also been phasing out use of palm oil-based biodiesel due to deforestation concerns, with consumption declining from 317 million liters in 2017 to 118 million liters in 2019 to 2 million liters in 2020. Rainforest Foundation Norway says that Amaggi, one of the world's largest soybean producers and exporters, has not committed to a 2020 cut-off date for eliminating deforestation from its supply chain. Amaggi is the main soy supplier for the Norwegian agriculture sector, according to the NGO. "All the while deforestation numbers continue to rise in Brazil, and the soy industry fails to stop the crisis, the risk of being associated with soy will only increase," said Ida Breckan Claudi, senior advisor at Rainforest Foundation Norway, in a statement. "Gårdsand's new soy-free feed sends a clear message to the soy traders that the traders' current business model is incompatible with companies' sustainability ambitions. Unless the industry leaders Cargill, Bunge and Amaggi establish instruments to protect the remains of Brazil's native forests from soy expansion, they will continue to lose market share, due to the deforestation risk."  Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has been climbing steadily since the mid-2010s, with the sharpest acceleration occurring since Jair Bolsonaro assumed the presidency in January 2019. Deforestation for the 12-months ending July 31, 2020 was 47% higher than two years prior. Soy has the biggest direct impact on the cerrado, a tropical woodland found to the south and east of the Amazon rainforest, though soy production also affects forest cover in the rainforest itself. Header image: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler  |
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