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By Ian Garland: 10:25 GMT, 2 June 2012

Animal rights campaigners want the Italian government to ban an ancient fishing ritual, claiming
it causes unnecessary pain and stress to fish. The ceremony, known locally as La Mattanza, has taken
place off the coast of Sicily and Sardinia each year since the 15th century - but activists want to make
this year's the last.

The ritual involves coaxing rare bluefin tuna as big as three metres long through a three mile long corridor
of nets. When they reach the 'room of death' at the end, the fish are slit open and left to bleed to death.



An undercover operation carried out by Animal Rights Equity captured footage of the ceremony and the
group plans to use it to lobby politicians in Rome for a ban on bluefin tuna fishing.

The activist who infiltrated a fishing party in Carloforte, near Sardinia, told The Times: 'I was very frustrated.
When you're filming something so heavy and cruel, it was a bit painful. You could see the fish were suffering.'

Katherine van Ekhart, president of Sentient at the Australian institute of animal ethics insisted, despite claims
to the contrary, fish could feel pain.

After watching Animal Equity's footage, she told The Times: 'Pain and stress can be witnessed through the
struggling and thrashing movements of the tuna.'



The fish are bled to death because it's believed to make the meat more tender.

A number of restaurateurs, including Giorgio Locatelli and Gordon Ramsay, have boycotted bluefin tuna -
but much of the fish caught in Italy is sent to Japan where it's used in sushi and sashimi.

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