Fish Feel Pain. Torture Is Not Content.

Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC)  is deeply concerned by a disturbing trend spreading across social media: videos of pleco fish being deliberately harmed, tortured, and killed for entertainment.

We are receiving repeated reports of videos showing fish being cut, suffocated, mutilated, skinned alive, or killed on camera. Many appear to be created for shock value, views, and engagement.

This is not harmless "gross-out" content. It is the deliberate abuse of living, sentient animals.

Fish are too often treated as though their suffering matters less than that of other animals. Yet growing scientific evidence shows that fish can experience pain, fear, and distress. Their suffering is real, even if it is easy to overlook.

If these same acts were carried out against a dog or a cat, there would be little debate about whether the content should be removed. Fish deserve that same protection. Animal cruelty policies must be applied consistently, regardless of species.

Being called a "pest" does not justify cruelty

Many of these videos attempt to justify the abuse by describing plecos as "pests" or unwanted fish. In some places, plecos have become established outside their natural range and can create environmental challenges. Managing animal populations may sometimes be necessary, but causing unnecessary suffering is never acceptable.

These individual animals did not choose where humans released them. That should never become an excuse to torture them, prolong their suffering, or turn their deaths into entertainment for millions of viewers.

When management is necessary, it should always be carried out humanely and ethically, not as a spectacle for social media.

A screenshot representing the type of content spreading online, videos depicting cruelty toward pleco fish (Source: SMACC (2026))

This concern is shared across Asia

Sometimes animal welfare is dismissed as a Western issue. The response to pleco cruelty tells a very different story.

Across Asia, animal protection organizations, government agencies, religious leaders, academics, and members of the public have all spoken out against the unnecessary suffering of fish.

In Singapore, SMACC member ACRES raised concerns after a condominium pond was drained while live fish, including plecos, were left stranded and struggling. The case was reported as unnecessary animal suffering, and Singapore's National Parks Board (NParks) opened an investigation, recognizing that fish welfare is an animal welfare issue.

Similar concerns have also emerged in China, where users on Weibo, Douyin, and Bilibili have repeatedly condemned videos showing plecos being skinned alive, dismembered, or tortured for entertainment. A common message appears again and again: protecting the environment should never mean celebrating cruelty.

These examples point to a shared principle across cultures: whatever challenges these animals may present, unnecessary suffering is never acceptable.

Don't help cruelty spread

We understand why people feel angry or heartbroken when they encounter these videos. But resharing them, even to condemn them, can unintentionally reward the people creating them.

Cruelty content often thrives on outrage. Every view, comment, share, or reaction can help it reach even more people.

If you see these videos, please don't engage with them. Report them directly through the platform's reporting tools instead.

Three essential actions to combat online animal cruelty: Be aware, do not engage, and report it! (Source: SMACC, 2025)

What SMACC is calling for

SMACC calls on social media platforms to urgently remove videos depicting the torture of plecos and other fish, and to enforce their animal cruelty policies consistently across all species. We also urge the public to stop amplifying this content and instead report it whenever they encounter it.

Fish are sentient beings. Their suffering must not be dismissed, minimized, or turned into entertainment.

Fish feel pain. Torture is not content.