Animal welfare—Sentient beings
Statement
Hon Amanda Dorn (6:10 pm): The meaning of sentience in animals refers to the capacity of animals to experience feelings and emotions, both positive and negative, and to be aware of their surroundings in a meaningful way. It has been proven that animals have friends, families and feelings. Sentience is the ability to perceive or feel things. In animals, this includes sensations like pain, pleasure, fear and joy. Animals can experience a wide spectrum of emotions such as contentment, frustration, boredom and affection. Sentience also involves cognitive abilities such as learning from experience, assessing risks and making choices based on memory and perception. Vertebrate animals that are widely considered to be sentient are mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Research shows that invertebrate species such as octopus, squid and even crabs also show signs of sentience.
Recognising animals as sentient beings implies a moral responsibility to protect their welfare, meaning they can feel pain, experience emotions and have subjective experiences. This has profound ethical and legal implications. Sentient animals have emotional and physical awareness and can suffer, feel fear and joy, and also have social bonds. This awareness makes their treatment a moral issue, not just a practical one. If beings can suffer, then causing them unnecessary harm becomes ethically indefensible. This is a core principle in moral philosophy, and animals deserve our moral consideration. Many countries have updated their laws to reflect this understanding. The United Kingdom legally recognises animals as sentient beings, with its Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 legally requiring government policies to consider animal welfare. The UK sentience act recognises pigs as sentient beings. New Zealand recognised animal sentience in 2015, banning cosmetic testing on animals and improving welfare standards. France amended its civil code in 2015 to recognise animals as living beings gifted with sentience, not just property. Chile and Spain have passed reforms acknowledging animal sentience and enhancing protections for pets and farm animals.
We know that animals are sentient through scientific evidence that demonstrates their ability to feel, perceive and respond to emotional and physical experiences. Studies in animal behaviour suggest emotional states such as play, grief, empathy and fear. For example, elephants mourn their dead, dogs show jealousy and affection, and rats will free trapped companions, even when there is no reward. Sentience is measured by watching how animals react to different situations such as stress, comfort and social interaction, letting animals choose between their environments or stimuli and physiological monitoring measures stressing hormone stress or heart rate and brain activity.
Pigs are amongst the most intelligent and emotionally aware animals in the animal kingdom. They experience happiness, fear, anxiety and even empathy. They can recognise other pigs' emotional states and respond accordingly. They have problem-solving skills and can use mirrors to locate hidden food and can learn complex tasks. They enjoy and engage in joyful play and exhibit distinct personalities.
Octopus are invertebrates and they have alien minds but deep emotions. They show astonishing signs of sentience. Studies show that octopus not only feel pain physically, but also emotionally, similar to mammals. They use tools, they can open jars, they have problem-solving capabilities, they can escape enclosures and they use coconut shells as shelters. Octopus display unique personalities and preferences.
Parrots, especially the African grey, are renowned for their intelligence and emotional depth. They can learn and use human words meaningfully. Grey parrots have shown signs of near-human levels of consciousness and self-awareness. Parrots form strong emotional attachments and show signs of grief, joy and affection. They demonstrate cognitive complexity and can solve puzzles, use logic and adapt to new challenges.
Recognising sentience is not just academic; it shows how we treat animals in farming, research, entertainment and as companions. It is the foundation for animal welfare laws and ethical standards around the world. Animals and the recognition of their sentience deserve our moral consideration. Thank you.
