Images released by We Animals Media and Sinergia Animal revealed animal suffering and unsanitary conditions in the farming and trade of tilapia, the most farmed fish in Thailand. Fish were found living in visibly dirty water, some of them with signs of diseases such as bulging white eyes. In one of the farms investigated, dead fish were left in the pond, while live ones ate their floating bodies. During the harvest and slaughter, they are taken out of water and tossed into buckets or dropped onto the ground, left out of water to die slowly from suffocation. In traditional markets, live tilapia had their head smashed with a cleaver or butchered alive and completely conscious. Other fish are packed into plastic bags while still alive and die slowly while gasping for air. In Siam Makro, one of Thailand’s largest retailers, live tilapia were being displayed for sale in crowded and murky tanks. Many of them appeared injured and unhealthy.

Credit:
Videos: Taichi Kaito / Sinergia Animal / We Animals Media
Photos: Mako Kurokawa / Sinergia Animal / We Animals Media
Year: 2021
License type: Non-commercial use