Animals Feel

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Photo Credits:-

Calm Frog
(silviarita, Pixabay)

Zebra
(greyerbaby,
Morguefile)

Calm Frog
(silviarita, Pixabay)

A statue of a golden frog in a cross-legged meditation pose

Animals Feel

Animals feel emotion and pain.
In the last century (as late as 1999), human babies were not thought to feel pain. There was a violent century of denial by medicine.
It seems as if we are also in denial about animals...

In 2021 UK, there is some movement towards rectifying this as animals will finally be recognised as sentient beings in law.
It is claimed that that we are a nation of animal lovers, but we still: industrially kill animals for food and milk; allow cruel activities such as horse racing (e.g. Grand National); continue to experiment on animals (even when alternatives exist and their physiology is so different); and more.
Are we really a nation of animal lovers?
The claim is delusional.

Penalties for animal cruelty are so weak. In 2017 England, no matter how brutal or extreme the act, the maximum prison sentence is six months. Between 2013-2015, only 7% received jail terms (BBC, posted and accessed 24 February 2017).
Is this what we want?

Looking at the whole planet, do we really care for animals?

When will the genocide stop?

Quotes

There is no fundamental difference between man and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery. (Charles Darwin)

It’s important to recognise that if other species have experience, the very first things that they are going to be endowed with by evolution are abilities to feel pain or pleasure or suffering rather than complex, intelligent thinking. When we decide how to treat other animals, we should bear that in mind, rather than assessing how smart they seem to be. (Anil Seth, neuroscientist, cited in The Guardian, posted 21, accessed 22 August 2021)

Animals have no politics, but they can feel good and evil.
(Oleh Kokhan, producer of the film War Through the Eyes of Animals, that tells the story of the Ukraine war from the perspective of animals, quoted in The Guardian, posted and accessed 19 January 2025)

Resources

Animals feel pain, pleasure, happiness, and fear - tell the EU to recognize animals as "sentient beings"! (Care2 petition).
The truth about animal grief (Zoe Cormier, BBC Earth, undated) [Many animals feel it. Grief is the price we pay for love.].
Farm animals 'need emotional TLC' (BBC, 2005).
The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness (2012; also see here).
Foundations of Animal Sentience (ASENT) (LSE, 2021).
How does it feel to be a bee? The quest to understand animal sentience (Horizon, 2021).
How to Prevent Animal Cruelty (Becky Simmonds, Breed Advisor, 2021) [USA focus].
Animals to be formally recognised as sentient beings in UK law (The Guardian, 2021) [Set of government measures will include halting most live animal exports and a ban on hunting trophy imports].
What do animals feel? Humans must follow the evidence to find out (Jonathan Birch, The Guardian, 2021) [Government proposals to recognise vertebrates as sentient beings are welcome, but this should be just the start].
Octopuses and lobsters have feelings – include them in sentience bill, urge MPs (The Guardian, 2021) [Group argues some invertebrates are extremely intelligent and should be protected from suffering].
‘Bees are really highly intelligent’: the insect IQ tests causing a buzz among scientists (The Guardian, 2022) [They are clever, sentient and unique beings. They have emotion-like states.].
Feel your pain? Even fish can show they care (Christina Larson, Phys.org, 2023) [Our capacity to care about others may have very, very ancient origins. It might have been deep-rooted in prehistoric animals that lived millions of years ago, before fish and mammals like us diverged on the tree of life.].
‘Bees are sentient’: inside the stunning brains of nature’s hardest workers (Annette McGivney, The Guardian, 2023) [Research suggests they have emotions, dreams and even PTSD, raising complex ethical questions].
Are animals conscious? How new research is changing minds (BBC, 2024).
When dogs recall toys, and horses plan ahead, are animals so different from us? (Martha Gill, The Guardian, 2024) [We’re warned not to assign human qualities to other species, but evidence of their complex abilities is mounting].
Do fish have feelings? Scientists believe they’re getting closer to an answer (The Guardian, 2024) [Research suggesting certain species can learn, experience pain and form relationships has implications for our attitude to world’s most-eaten animal].

Also see:-

Animal

Animal, Human and Angel

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