Michelle DurbanoFRANKLIN, the cuttlefish, was tempted by the juicy prawn meat morsel. It looked delicious, but she refused to eat it. She waited for live shrimp to become her favorite meal. She is a model of self-control, comparable to chimpanzees or crows.Self-control is an essential cognitive skill that supports decision-making and future planning. These abilities can be linked to sentience in humans because they involve conscious experience. The ability to imagine future choices requires a conscious awareness of how my future self will want it. How different from what I want right now. While some animals have similar cognitive abilities, they cannot report their experiences. This makes it difficult to know if they are sentient.The UK has been focusing attention on this topic recently with a bill in parliament that will recognize certain animals as sentient. It includes mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds. This will provide them with greater legal protections, especially in the context of reducing suffering and pain.AdvertisementThis is a positive step in the right direction. As it stands, however, Franklin and other invertebrates are not being included.Many behaviour signs that indicate sentience are present in invertebrates. Their neurological architecture is very different from vertebrates. This leads to the mistaken assumption that they don't have the right hardware to feel emotions.Despite differences in brain structure, both groups have many brain structures that perform similar functions. Cephalopods such as octopus (cuttlefish, squid), and decapods(crayfish crabs lobsters, lobsters), have brain receptors that allow them to process negative emotions. For example, the cephalopods' vertical lobe, which is responsible for memory and learning, has decapods. The nerve cords in their brains transmit information from the peripheral nerves to central brain about the location of injury.Crustacean Compassion and the RSPCA, along with the Conservative Animal Welfare Group, (CAWG), are calling for inclusion of cephalopods as well as decapods into the UK's Animal Sentience Bill. They argue that cephalopod intelligence, especially in octopuses should be granted protection.Important to remember that animal protections don't only concern intelligence. Sentience doesn't necessarily mean an animal must be able plan for the future. There is no evidence that crabs have a plan for the future. However, when they are injured, they tend to treat their wounds in a selfprotective manner. For instance, declawed arms are hidden behind healthy claws to protect them. Also, they seem to shudder when touched.Cephalopods behave in a way that indicates they are able to feel emotions. Cuttlefish, for example, learn to avoid the crab prey's claws after being pinched. Instead they attack their prey from behind. After being injured, octopuses wrap their arms around the wound. They avoid areas where injuries have been inflicted and prefer to retreat to rooms that offer pain relief.Invertebrates have been protected by law in countries like Norway, Sweden, and Austria. This has led to much better animal welfare standards such as the storage and slaughter decapods in the food industry.Other countries must catch up. There are neurological differences between invertebrates, but they are more likely to feel pain and show signs that they are sentient. This should be reflected in animal protection laws.
