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Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology
Distress Or Suffering: What Should Be Measured To Determine Animal Well-Being?, Ian J. H. Duncan
Distress Or Suffering: What Should Be Measured To Determine Animal Well-Being?, Ian J. H. Duncan
Sentience Collection
It is generally accepted that all the vertebrates and some of the invertebrates (those with large neural ganglia such as the cephalopods) are capable of subjective experiences. Amongst those experiences are the subjective, affective states, sometimes called 'feelings' or 'emotions'. The strong negative feelings are often lumped together as 'suffering' and the positive feelings as 'pleasure'. I have argued for many years that animal welfare/well-being is completely dependent on what the animal feels (Duncan, 1993, 1996, 2002). An animal's well-being is decreased by experiencing suffering and increased by experiencing pleasure. It's as simple as that.
Distress In Animals: Its Recognition And A Hypothesis For Its Assessment, David B. Morton
Distress In Animals: Its Recognition And A Hypothesis For Its Assessment, David B. Morton
Sentience Collection
This essay deals with the recognition of non-painful emotional experiences in animals, how they relate to animal wellbeing and animal welfare, and how they can be assessed, monitored and mitigated. While it is written often from a mammalian perspective, the general principles will apply to all animals that are sentient.