personally, i think the WAY we put down our fish is primarily for us the, the fishkeepers. weve cared for them as much as possible and when situations like this arise, we like to see them go in a way, that in our eyes, that is humane and as pain-free as possible. fish feeling pain has come up before and after reading through a few articles online, i believe that fish do not have a receptary(?) system as advanced as ours and they way they feel or sense pain is so far different from ours that we cant possibly relate. i dont believe that fish ever experience what we would consider "agony". as "cruel" as the hammer method may seem(certainly more messy), its probably the fastest and best method when you take into the consideration the fish. its over before it knows whats happening and it doesnt feel a thing. fish freeze in nature every year, so i dont look at it as cruel. they dont freeze to death the way we would. their bodies simply adjust the metabolism rate as the temperature drops and eventually shuts down on its own. ive had fish ive caught ice fishing, come back to life hours after theyve been out of the water. simply gradually bring the temperature back up and slowly but sure theyre eventually swimming around again as if nothing happened.
of course, then i filleted them, but thats probably not how you want to put your pet down. think of the hammer method as the "old yellar" way of doing it. or simply do it in a manner that is beneficial to your feelings on the matter. the end result will be the same and your fish isnt going to suffer for long.
