World Day for the End of Fishing

Last updated
World Day for the End of Fishing
Fish Count for WoDEF.jpg
Montreal activists from Le Collectif Antispéciste pour la Solidarité Animale (CASA) organized a fish count for the victims of fishing in 2019 for The World Day for the End of Fishing.
Location(s)International
Years active6
InauguratedMarch 24, 2017 (2017-03-24)

The World Day for the End of Fishing (WoDEF) is an international campaign launched by animal rights activists that demand the end of fishing practices. It takes place on the last Saturday of March every year. [1]

Contents

The campaign was born in Switzerland and France in 2016 and took an international turn in 2017. It was first launched by the association Pour L'Égalité Animale (PEA). [1]

Events

Over the years and around the world lots of actions were organized for the WoDEF: street protests, sit-ins, screenings, conferences, fish counts, workshops, exhibitions, etc. in order to bring awareness to fish pain, sentience and fish intelligence.

In 2017, for its first edition, the event occurred in many cities around the world: in Lorient, [2] Paris, Valence, Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Saint Malo, Rennes (France), Geneva, [3] Lausanne (Swiss), Brussels, Namur, Charleroi (Belgium), Montreal, Toronto (Canada), [4] Stuttgart, Vogelsberg, Siegen, Hannover, Göttingen, Hamburg, Berlin (Germany), Lisbon (Portugal), Tel Aviv, Haifa (Israel), Melbourne (Australia), San Diego and Monterey Bay (United States). [5]

In 2018, for its second edition, the event occurred once again internationally: in Canada, Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, Peru, Sweden, United States, Germany, Japan, Brazil, France, Denmark, Mexico, United Kingdom and Panama. [6] In the same year, an open letter signed by dozens of philosophers and scientists, including Stevan Harnard, Peter Singer, Valéry Giroux, Sue Donaldson, Will Kymlicka and Élise Desaulniers, was published in Le Nouveau Magazine Littéraire in order to highlight the WoDEF. [7]

In 2019, for its third edition, activists from 269 Life France pierced their cheeks with fish hooks in a street protest for the WoDEF. [8]

Demands

The organizers of the Word Day for the End of Fishing demand the abolition of all kinds of fishing practices for fish, crustaceans and cephalopods: the end of aquaculture, industrial or wild fishing, the use of marine animals as domestic pets, in scientific experiments and for entertainment, in antispeciesist perspective. [9]

Protesters affirm that fish can feel pain and that it is unnecessary to consume them. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Patriots' Day</span> Canadian public holiday

National Patriots' Day is a statutory holiday observed annually in the Canadian province of Quebec, on the Monday preceding 25 May. The holiday was established by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec-in-Council in 2003, according to the Parti Quebecois premier Bernard Landry: "to underline the importance of the struggle of the patriots of 1837–1838 for the national recognition of our people, for its political liberty and to obtain a democratic system of government." Before 2003, the Monday preceding 25 May of each year was unofficially the Fête de Dollard, a commemoration initiated in the 1920s to coincide with Victoria Day, a federal holiday occurring annually on the same date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swiss cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Switzerland

Swiss cuisine is an ensemble of national, regional and local dishes, consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed in Switzerland or assimilated from other cultures, particularly neighboring countries. The diversity and comprehensiveness of Swiss gastronomy reflects the linguistic, cultural and geographical diversity. The climate of Switzerland allows for a large variety of terroirs, and therefore a wide range of indigenous food, from simple cereals to refined products like cheese and wine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cécile Duflot</span> French politician

Cécile Duflot is a French non-governmental organisation (NGO) leader and former politician. She has been a government minister and political party leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acadian cuisine</span> Cuisine of the Acadian people

Acadian cuisine comprises the traditional dishes of the Acadian people. It is primarily seen in the present-day cultural region of Acadia. Acadian cuisine has been influenced by the Deportation of the Acadians, proximity to the ocean, the Canadian winter, bad soil fertility, the cuisine of Quebec, American cuisine, and English cuisine, among other factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zone to Defend</span> French sites occupied by citizens to resist development projects

Zone to Defend or ZAD is a French neologism used to refer to a militant occupation that is intended to physically blockade a development project. By occupying the land, activists aim to prevent the project from going ahead. The acronym "ZAD" is a détournement of "deferred development area". The ZADs are organized particularly in rural areas with an ecological or agricultural dimension, although the name has also been used by occupations in urban areas, for example in Décines-Charpieu and Rouen.

François-Étienne de La Roche was a Genevan physician, naturalist, chemist, botanist and ichthyologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March to close all slaughterhouses</span> International event

The march to close all slaughterhouses is an international event in the form of annual demonstrations in support of the abolition of the meat, dairy, egg, and fish industries and their practices, including the breeding, fishing, and killing of animals for food products.

Ceva Santé Animale (Ceva) is a multinational animal health company based in Libourne, France. Established in 1999, Ceva undertakes research, development, production and marketing of pharmaceutical products and vaccines, and also provides complementary services and equipment, for companion animals, poultry, ruminants and swine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hirak (Algeria)</span> Protests against the government

The 2019–2021 Algerian protests, also called Revolution of Smiles or Hirak Movement, began on 16 February 2019, six days after Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his candidacy for a fifth presidential term in a signed statement. These protests, without precedent since the Algerian Civil War, were peaceful and led the military to insist on Bouteflika's immediate resignation, which took place on 2 April 2019. By early May, a significant number of power-brokers close to the deposed administration, including the former president's younger brother Saïd, had been arrested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Olivier</span> French and British philosopher and activist

David Olivier Whittier is a French and British philosopher and antispeciesist activist. He is founder of the French journal Cahiers antispécistes, the annual event Veggie Pride and of the annual meeting Les Estivales de la question animale . Olivier is also the creator of the term "veggiephobia" and of numerous articles and conferences. He is an advocate of utilitarian and antinatauralist ethics, and defines himself politically as a progressive.

Chouf Minorities, also known as Chouf, is a Tunisian non-governmental organization that advocates for the personal rights of Tunisian people who identify as women and of the LBT community in general.

<i>Cahiers antispécistes</i> Academic journal

The Cahiers antispécistes, originally called Cahiers antispécistes lyonnais, was a French-language journal published from 1991 to 2019, with the aim of disseminating antispeciesist ideas and stimulating debate on animal ethics, particularly on the distinction between animal liberation and ecology. It was published quarterly during its first years of existence, then annually. Issue 43, the last issue, was published in August 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yves Bonnardel</span> French philosopher

Yves Bonnardel is a French philosopher, essayist and editor, libertarian, egalitarian and antispeciesist activist. He is one of the founding members of the French-language journal Cahiers antispécistes and of the events Veggie Pride, Les Estivales de la question animale and the march to close all slaughterhouses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valéry Giroux</span> Canadian philosopher

Valéry Giroux is a Canadian philosopher, lawyer and animal rights activist from Quebec.

The 2021 French labor protests were a series of protests and strikes organized by the General Confederation of Labour (France) (CGT), other trade unions, and French citizens dissatisfied with the country's economic and employment conditions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. These were followed by protests against proposed laws that would give greater powers to police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Bertholet</span>

Lynn Bertholet is a transgender Swiss woman, bank executive and photomodel. She is also co-founder and chairperson of charity ÉPICÈNE, a volunteer public utility body which aims to welcome and support anyone facing transidentity issues.

InterAction is a Swiss organization for intersex people, parents, friends and allies to educate, provide peer support and address human rights issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing industry in Switzerland</span> Commercial and sport fishing, aquaculture, processing, importation and consumption of fish

Landlocked Switzerland supports a small commercial fishing industry in its many large lakes. About 200 fishermen nationally ply them in small boats, supplemented by fish farmers who largely raise trout and some carp. The former catch primarily perch and whitefish, with pike, lake trout and Arctic char making up significant portions of the country's 12,000-tonne annual catch. Angling is also popular, while fish processing is marginal, largely limited to making fish oil for the country's drug industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Jersey dispute</span> 2021 dispute over Jersey fishing licences

In 2021, a dispute erupted between French fishermen and the Government of Jersey about the licensing of French fishing boats to fish in Jersey's territorial waters. Jersey is a British Crown Dependency, and despite not being part of the United Kingdom, the licensing of European Union fishing boats to fish in Jersey's territorial waters has changed after the UK exit from the EU. On 6 May 2021, French fishermen held a protest in the waters off Jersey's main harbour. The UK is responsible for the defence of the Channel Islands and sent two patrol boats to Jersey in response to the fishermen's threats to blockade it. French politicians suggested that Jersey's electricity supply fed by undersea cables from France could be cut off in retaliation for Jersey placing limitations on the extent to which French boats can fish in the island's waters.

The Society for the Protection of Animals is France's oldest animal protection association.

References

  1. 1 2 "The World Day and the 'Another Perspective on Fish' campaign". WoDEF - World Day for the End of Fishing. 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  2. "Vegan. La souffrance des poissons dénoncée". Le Telegramme (in French). 2017-04-03. Archived from the original on 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  3. "Une journée pour sensibiliser au carnage mondial des poissons". RJB (in Swiss French). 2017-03-25. Archived from the original on 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  4. "Aquatic animals don't belong in a 'bathtub' say Ripley's Aquarium protestors | CBC News". Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  5. "Succès pour la première Journée mondiale dédiée aux poissons - Association PEA - Pour l'Égalité Animale". www.asso-pea.ch. Archived from the original on 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  6. Ruel-Manseau, Audrey (2018-03-24). "Des militants réclament la fin de la pêche". La Presse (in French). Archived from the original on 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  7. "Halte au carnage des poissons". www.nouveau-magazine-litteraire.com (in French). Archived from the original on 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  8. "Activists in France pierce cheeks to mark world day to end fishing". RFI. 2019-03-30. Archived from the original on 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  9. "Why should we stop fishing? - World day for the end of fishing". www.end-of-fishing.org. 2 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  10. "Aquatic animals don't belong in a 'bathtub' say Ripley's Aquarium protestors". CBC. 2017-03-25. Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2020-03-29.