Betta fish rescue stories are common, and this phenomenon reflects a larger problem with how bettas are displayed and sold in pet stores.

Betta fish rescue stories are common, and this phenomenon reflects a larger problem with how bettas are displayed and sold in pet stores.
Help spread the word about End Betta Cups Week - October 18-24 #endbettacups #fishwelfare
Join us in speaking up for betta fish 10/18-10/24 #endbettacups #fishwelfare #fishkeeping
More than 50 veterinarians, scientists, and fish welfare professionals have signed an open letter raising concerns about the display of betta fish in small cups.
The letter calls on major pet retailers to end the practice.
Thank you to the team at Welfare Matters for inviting us to share ESR’s experiences with the cohort.
We wish all of this year’s FAWI incubatees the very best as they continue developing their work and putting their ideas into practice.
A big thank you to Houssam Hamza and Giorgos Paximadis for the invitation and warm welcome, and congratulations to Michalis Pavlidis and his team for putting together such an excellent workshop.
#AquaticAnimalWelfare #FishWelfare #Aquaculture #MediterraneanAquaculture
Happy days. Visited by the amazing Loris Commissaire-Danjou and Lisa Carlsson today. Such a pleasure to spend time with them. Welcomed new group members Ida Huss, Pinge Liu and Fatema Akter Sumi as well as current members @ekasiouras.bsky.social and Ulla Saarinen #fishwelfare #fishsci
Next week I am heading to Ljubljana for the European Veterinary Congress on Behavioural Medicine and Animal Welfare (EVCBMAW 2026) where I have been invited to talk about assessing pain in fishes and how to develop pain management protocols #fishsci #fishwelfare #3Rs
Online seminar on anaesthesia and analgesia in fishes which improves welfare in experiments and in veterinary care #zebrafish #fishwelfare #fishsci #3Rs
So blessed to supervise Michaela Johansson's Masters which she successfully presented today. Michaela's research focussed on whether zebrafish show emotional contagion to another fish experiencing positive or negative welfare and the impact of social buffering #zebrafish #fishsci #fishwelfare
And, of course, thank you to our partners at Nautilus Collaboration and Aquavet Egypt for helping us bring the workshop together.
Lina Gustafson's new book, Ur Djupet, on the internal lives of fishes, fishing and the attitude of the fishing industry is a fascinating read (in Swedish). Delighted to help Lina with the fish welfare aspects and she very kindly sent me the book #fishwelfare #fishing
These suggest that artificial selection for aggression may alter how these fish process touch, making contact a potential stressor.
#FishWelfare #BettaSplendens #AnimalBehavior #FishBehavior #AnimalWelfare #StressResearch #Aquaculture #OrnamentalFish #SensoryEnrichment
If you’d like to support the development of practical, evidence-based solutions that improve the lives of aquatic animals while supporting farmers and more sustainable food systems, please consider supporting our work.
End Betta Cups is a campaign organized by Betta World For Bettas. We’re asking major pet retailers Petco, PetSmart, Pet Supplies Plus, and Pet Supermarket to publish a plan by March 2027 outlining how they will end betta cup displays.
Learn more at endbettacups.org