Do Animals Have Feelings?
Over the years, animals have shown very characteristic behaviors that have sometimes been associated with the existence of feelings. But can animals feel? Here I'll tell you.
I do not doubt that many of us love animals. But, an important question is ... Do animals have feelings? If you have ever asked yourself this question, you will also know that when it comes to the animal world, sometimes many forget that animals have their way of seeing the world and those who even devalue their ability to feel. You just need to stop and think, for example, about the specially developed senses of dogs that lead them to change their behavior and even become more protective and loving when they detect disease in their human companion or when they sense dangerous situations or even death.
There are precisely many documented cases that over the years have shown that animals can also experience a sensation of hunger, pain, cold, or heat, but also complex feelings such as joy, mourning, sadness, or even melancholy.
There are precisely many documented cases that over the years have shown that animals can also experience a sensation of hunger, pain, cold, or heat, but also complex feelings such as joy, mourning, sadness, or even melancholy.
Complex Feelings
It is believed that animals can have complex feelings, but to understand them, it would also be necessary to understand what a sensation, an emotion, or a feeling is for them and this last word is already quite imprecise. The reason? Feelings are full of nuances and also, when we talk about them we always try to transfer what we as humans understand as feelings to those of any other animal. Something completely normal, since we only know how to think like human beings that we are, but very far from animal reality.
Feelings are something much more complex for animals, especially because their perceptions and cognitive capacity are very different from ours and one of the reasons why many people still cannot associate them with animals.
Of what there is no doubt, is that animals have sensitivity basically because they can feel through their senses. But what about feelings? Some several examples and situations have been documented in animals for years and that can help us understand them a little more.
Feelings are something much more complex for animals, especially because their perceptions and cognitive capacity are very different from ours and one of the reasons why many people still cannot associate them with animals.
Of what there is no doubt, is that animals have sensitivity basically because they can feel through their senses. But what about feelings? Some several examples and situations have been documented in animals for years and that can help us understand them a little more.
Suicide and Bereavement Cases in Animals
Cases like the sadly that occurred in 1932 in Chester (England) can give an idea of this. It was there that a small rhesus monkey managed to get hold of a rope that he later tied to a branch of his cage and with which, after tying a knot at the other end, he decided to stick his head and jump, according to witnesses. Some actions that the monkey carried out step by step. But the truth is that this is not the only case of animals with suicidal tendencies before complicated situations and it is that others such as cows, bulls, deer, whales, ducks, or even dogs have also shown it.
And what about the young gorilla whose mother had been killed by poachers and who sought comfort in the arms of his caretaker Patrick Karabanga? or the famous Hachiko? For those who do not know, Hachiko is the name of the dog that inspired the movie "Hachi: A Dog's Tale" starring Richard Gere. This dog was waiting for its owner for several years after his death. Another demonstration of mourning and perhaps sadness, which has also been shown by many other animals such as dogs, wild boars, dolphins, crows, or even killer whales, which have come to be seen with the body of some of their young deceased on their loins as an apparent phase of mourning.
And what about the young gorilla whose mother had been killed by poachers and who sought comfort in the arms of his caretaker Patrick Karabanga? or the famous Hachiko? For those who do not know, Hachiko is the name of the dog that inspired the movie "Hachi: A Dog's Tale" starring Richard Gere. This dog was waiting for its owner for several years after his death. Another demonstration of mourning and perhaps sadness, which has also been shown by many other animals such as dogs, wild boars, dolphins, crows, or even killer whales, which have come to be seen with the body of some of their young deceased on their loins as an apparent phase of mourning.
What Does Science Say?
Jonathan Birch, professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics and chief researcher of the ASENT project, which studies the criteria for attributing consciousness to animals, considers that they are sentient beings, sentient creatures, capable of experiencing joy, grief, fear. But the scientific community is determined on finding out more. And it should be done as soon as possible because the Parliament of the United Kingdom has initiated the processing of the law that will recognize that animals have feelings. For now, the rule will only apply to vertebrates. And it establishes the creation of an Animal Sentience Commission to supervise that all ministries ensure that their future policies do not have "an adverse effect on the welfare of animals as sentient beings."
The word "Sentience" is already used to refer to the ability to feel of living beings. And we know that if a cat had an accident will experience physical pain, but also emotional pain? Are there animals more conscious than others? Are they capable to process those emotions? Are they able to remember them and modify their behavior to avoid what hurts them or purposely seek what gives them pleasure?
It is a subject on which there are still more questions than answers, but in recent years several disciplines have turned to their research: neuroscience, comparative psychology, evolutionary biology, and philosophy. They agree that mammals have feelings very similar to ours. After all, we have a lot in common. A big brain, a similar evolutionary past ... and a mom! Human and pig cubs are (or should be) raised between maternal cuddles.
The First Goal is To Investigate Pain
The sensation that has received the most attention is pain. Partly because it is a source of ethical concern. In laboratory experiments, rats avoid compartments where they have suffered an injury and prefer not to leave those where they have been administered an analgesic. The same happens with octopuses, which have sensory neurons that encode noxious stimuli. The EU is very restrictive when it comes to experimentation with octopus, squid, and cuttlefish, which are more protected in the laboratory than in the kitchen. And the fish? An investigation by the University of Liverpool has found not only that they suffer pain, but that after a traumatic experience they suffer from hyperventilation and loss of appetite, and they rub the damaged part, just like us!
But pain is a very basic sensation, a reaction to a stimulus. And reflections are not enough to establish sentience. Pleasure is more sophisticated. Let's think of something fun. All mammals play (just try throwing a stick at a dog). Rats are no exception. German neuroscientists spent several weeks with rodents in a room full of boxes and discovered that the animals played hide and seek. They recorded leaps of joy and ultrasonic laughter when rats encountered or were caught by humans, even without receiving food as a reward. And crows are playful too. Corvids have been observed gliding down snow-covered slopes on a plastic cap, their version of skiing. Why do they do it, if they are not going to get any rewards except for hanging out so richly? But is the joy of an animal similar to that experienced by a human being or does each one feel (and suffer) in their way? Dr. Birch says that we must recognize that the feelings of animals may not fit into the categories we use to describe our feelings.
Empathy, Love, and Sadness
Is an animal capable of loving? The romantic jay establishes couple bonds. And the male wins the favor of the female by giving her appetizing treats: a caterpillar, a worm ... And he can infer what he wants most at each moment. The ability to anticipate a partner's wishes is a social skill. Is it a form of empathy?
And can an animal feel sadness? Many scientists are skeptical, but others, like the zoologist Jules Howard, think that there is increasing evidence that mammals are aware of death, experience grief, and may even mourn. A mother orca made headlines, carrying the corpse of her calf across the ocean for 17 days. Elephants go out of their way to visit their deceased relatives. Chimpanzees in captivity, when a member of the group dies, they groom it. Magpies bury their dead. And the crows congregate around the corpse of a fellow man and squawk. Scientists call it a 'cacophonic grouping', but some call it a funeral.
And can an animal feel sadness? Many scientists are skeptical, but others, like the zoologist Jules Howard, think that there is increasing evidence that mammals are aware of death, experience grief, and may even mourn. A mother orca made headlines, carrying the corpse of her calf across the ocean for 17 days. Elephants go out of their way to visit their deceased relatives. Chimpanzees in captivity, when a member of the group dies, they groom it. Magpies bury their dead. And the crows congregate around the corpse of a fellow man and squawk. Scientists call it a 'cacophonic grouping', but some call it a funeral.
Is British law a breakthrough or are we falling into the anthropomorphization of animals? It is debatable, but the implications from an ethical and legal point of view are enormous, as they will affect future legislation on animal welfare. The sentience law is part of a very broad package in a country that had already advanced much more than others, for example banning the use of cages for laying hens or introducing closed-circuit television in slaughterhouses to prevent cruelty (although animals still die).
On the other hand, Spain prepares its legislation on animal welfare, but it is light years ahead of the English one. In April of this year, the legal reform began so that animals are no longer considered objects and are recognized as living beings. With current regulations, animals are equated with a car or any other property and that is what professionals say, for a long time animals have been considered 'things', the heritage of a human, beings without feelings, without a soul, without the ability to feel pain and, therefore, they have not been deserving of rights, which is ridiculous.
The UK sentience bill will not by itself solve any animal welfare problem. Pigs, chickens, and fish were already protected. However, pregnant pigs are often kept in cages where they cannot be turned over. Chickens are raised in sheds with space equivalent to one sheet of A4 paper for each bird. And everything that happens in the normal course of fishing is allowed. The burden continues to fall on us, as consumers, to oppose questionable practices.
#animal #animals #feelings #feel #science #animalsright #emotions
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My own quote (in Dutch) says: "Animals are animals. But humans can be beasts."