Manta rays are large, intelligent ocean creatures targeted for their gill plates in the traditional medicine trade. This causes suffering through inefficient slaughter and threatens populations that are extremely slow to recover.
Manta ray slaughter for gill plates causes suffering through inefficient killing methods. Harpoon strikes are often not immediately fatal; large rays may swim dragging gear for extended periods before dying from exhaustion and blood loss. Net entanglement causes drowning. The combination of high cognitive complexity — evidenced by mirror self-recognition and complex social behavior — with slow, inefficient death methods means individual manta rays likely experience significant suffering. Consumer education in Chinese medicine communities that gill plates have no proven medical benefit is the most direct intervention to reduce demand.