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The next time you stroll past a supermarket lobster
tank, think about this: scientists are beginning
to suspect that these boiled-alive victims
have been sentient right along.
Animal
consciousness has been even tougher to
define than human consciousness. Some say
that animal sentience denotes “an ability to
have subjective experiences,” even to the point
of self-awareness.
Mirror
tests have long been used to determine whether
a creature exhibits some sense of self. If
an animal shows signs of recognizing its own reflection,
then it likely possesses a degree of self-awareness. Amazingly, tiny wrasse fish have been known to pass such tests.
Additional
research has indicated that zebrafish act
curious, cuttlefish remember particular sights
and smells, and crayfish feel anxiety. Such
results have led British law to classify octopuses,
lobsters and crabs as sentient beings. Our own State of Oregon declared years ago that animals
are “capable of feeling pain, stress and
fear.”
Professor
Jonathan Birch of the London School
of Economics has been heavily involved
with the Foundations of Animal Sentience
project. He is therefore a proponent of
“humane slaughter” techniques. This
seems a
step up from being boiled alive, but not nearly as kind as vegetarianism could be.
Resources
https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientists-push-paradigm-animal-consciousness-151744245.html
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