Animal sentience

Area of Science:

• Animal consciousness studies
• Neuroscience
• Animal welfare science

Background:

• Sentience is debated, referring to subjective experience or affective states (pain/pleasure).
• Controversies exist regarding sentience in fish and invertebrates.
• Methodological challenges complicate assessing sentience in these animals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review controversies and methodological challenges in assessing fish and invertebrate sentience.
• To propose strategies for addressing uncertainty about animal sentience.
• To advance scientific understanding of animal consciousness and affect.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on animal sentience and consciousness.
• Exploration of methodological challenges in empirical research.
• Drawing parallels with human consciousness research.

Main Results:

• Two approaches are presented to address the challenge of assessing sentience.
• Precautionary thinking is proposed for policy-making to ensure appropriate animal treatment.
• Inspiration from human consciousness science can help distinguish conscious and unconscious perception in animals.

Conclusions:

• Addressing methodological challenges is crucial for understanding animal sentience.
• Precautionary approaches are vital for ethical animal welfare amid uncertainty.
• Future research should prioritize disentangling conscious and unconscious affect in animals.