"These feelings that we as humans experience throughout our lives, there are animals that are capable of having similar feelings." "If an animal has been shown to be sentient based on the relevant science … then we need to ensure that legislation gives those animals protections," she says. Melina Tensen, a senior scientific officer at RSPCA Australia, says animal welfare legislation in every state and territory should include language around sentience.
The ACT reforms created broad protections for animals and also specific prohibitions on particular acts that cause cruelty to animals.Īnd Victoria has committed to recognise animal sentience as the state reforms its animal welfare laws. In 2019, the ACT became the first and only jurisdiction to change the legal status of animals from "property" to sentient beings in their own right. In Australia, different states and territories have very different animal welfare laws. And not just a trend in legal terms, but also a trend amongst the public of growing awareness of animal sentience," Dr Kotzmann says. "Nevertheless, I think what's important about this recognition is, it's part of a growing trend of increasing welfare protections for animals. This means current controversial practices like boiling lobsters alive or declawing crabs won't be changed in the UK, at least for the time being (although the LSE report heavily criticised these). "So all the practices in relation to octopuses and so forth, that have occurred in the past or that are currently being used, are not subject to question." " recognises animal sentience and establishes an animal sentience committee, which will be put in place to look at UK government policy and the implementation of policy … But they will only be looking at future policies and implementation of policy." The LSE report used a framework of eight different factors to determine sentience, including the existence of nociceptors (pain receptors), and if the animals responded to pain relief medication.ĭivers meet a cuttlefish at Manly in Sydney. The amendment followed a UK government-commissioned report from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), which reviewed 300 earlier studies and found strong scientific evidence that these creatures are sentient. "So recognising that they are sentient in a very high profile way - by including them in those laws - I think is significant."
"Cephalopods and decapods are groups of animals that have generally been neglected by animal welfare laws," she tells ABC RN's Sunday Extra. Jane Kotzmann, a senior lecturer in law at Deakin University and an expert on animal welfare laws, says the announcement was a big deal. But last month, the UK government announced the bill would be amended to also include decapods and cephalopods. The UK bill already stipulated that all vertebrates – animals with spines – are sentient beings. Sunday Extra presents a lively mix of national and international affairs, analysis and investigation.
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