So, it's pretty cutting-edge what seems to be happening in the U.K.
"It's been a real struggle even to get fish and mammals recognized under welfare law as sentient. government found there is strong enough evidence to conclude that decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs are sentient," says York University Professor and philosopher Kristin Andrews, the York Research Chair in Animal Minds, who is working with the LSE team.Īndrews co-wrote an article published today in the journal Science, "The question of animal emotions," with Professor Frans de Waal, director of the Living Links Center at Emory University, which discusses the ethical and policy issues around animals being considered sentient.Īndrews points out it has long been thought in Western culture that other animals don't feel pain or have emotions. "A London School of Economics (LSE) report commissioned by the U.K. Animal protection laws should reflect that.Most countries don't recognize invertebrates, such as octopuses, crabs, lobsters and crayfish, as sentient beings that can feel pain, but the United Kingdom is considering amendments to its animal welfare legislation that would recognize this. While there are neurological differences, invertebrates are likely to experience pain and show signs of sentience. Octopuses with injured arms curl their adjacent arms around the wound and after being injured they avoid chambers where an injury was inflicted, preferring to seek refuge in chambers that provide access to a local anaesthetic for pain relief.Ĭountries such as Norway, Sweden and Austria have already afforded invertebrates legislative protection, and this has resulted in much improved animal welfare standards, such as in the storage and slaughter of decapods within the food industry. For example, cuttlefish learn to avoid the claws of their crab prey after being pinched and instead attack them from behind. They also appear to shudder when wounds are touched.Ĭephalopods also behave in a way that is indicative of being able to experience emotions. For example, there is no evidence that crabs plan for the future, but, when injured, they attend to their wounds in a self-protective manner, such as hiding declawed arms behind healthy claws to protect their wound. It is important to remember animal protections aren’t just about intelligence, as sentience doesn’t necessarily require it – an animal doesn’t need to be able to plan for the future to be capable of suffering. They also argue that the intelligence observed in cephalopods, particularly octopuses, should grant them protection. This will give them greater protections in law, particularly in the context of reducing pain and suffering.Ĭonsequently, groups including Crustacean Compassion, the RSPCA and the Conservative Animal Welfare Group (CAWG) are urging for the inclusion of cephalopods and decapods in the UK’s Animal Sentience Bill. This topic has recently taken the spotlight in the UK with a new bill currently making its way through parliament that will recognise certain animals as sentient, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. Imagining future choices is accompanied by an awareness of the projection of self in time – what will my future self want, and how different will it be from what I want now? Some animals possess similar cognitive abilities, but cannot report their experiences, and so whether they are sentient is an ongoing debate. In humans, these abilities are linked to sentience because they are thought to involve conscious experience. Self-control is a vital cognitive skill that underpins decision-making and future planning. Her self-control is impressive and comparable to what we see in chimpanzees and crows. As mouth-watering as it looked, she resisted temptation and waited for her favourite meal to become available – live shrimp. FRANKLIN the cuttlefish considered the juicy prawn meat morsel in front of her.