The UK has officially recognized the sentient beings of crabs and octopuses.
The UK's animal welfare minister said that it was only right that decapods and cephalopods were covered by the legislation.
A review of over 300 scientific studies by the London School of Economics and Political Science led to the update to the Animal Welfare Sentience Bill.
In other European countries, such as Norway, Sweden, and Austria, decapods and squid are protected under animal welfare legislation.
The researchers explain in the report thatience is the capacity to have feelings, such as feelings of pain, pleasure, hunger, thirst, warmth, joy, comfort, and excitement.
The researchers looked at eight measures of sentience in the invertebrates, including learning ability, the presence of pain receptors, and their connection to the brain.
The world is vastly different for crocodiles and cephalopods. The report concludes that what matters is whether that experience entails conscious experience of pleasure and pain.
Evidence shows that these animals experience pleasure and pain.
These amazing animals have complex central nervous systems that allow them to display such capacities, despite the fact that some of their quirks may be alien to us.
The intelligence of the cepopods has been demonstrated. Cuttlefish can pass cognitive tests designed for human children, and they're also notorious escape artists, as well as octopuses, who remember how to solve puzzles.
When trapped in environments that lack stimulation, they grow frustrated and bored just like we do. They may be able to dream.
Crabs have also demonstrated an ability to learn through association. They can learn how to navigate mazes and remember a fake seagull isn't a threat. They experience pain, have protective and learning behaviors to avoid it, and suffer stress from excessive noise.
The report states that the lack of these characteristics is due to lack of research rather than evidence of absence. Extending protections to all animals within these two classes is recommended by it.
The update to the Sentience Bill looks great in theory, but unless it comes with action and enforcement, it could be a political example of 'wokewashing'. The problematic practices that are already taking place may continue to get a free pass because of the new amendment.
The Sentience Bill has been questioned if it has the power to change anything during a parliamentary debate.
Baroness Jenny Jones said that the Government can ignore it and do their own thing. Climate change and carbon credits can be used with animal welfare and animal sentience.
It's possible that focusing society's attention on individual animal welfare can be used to distract from larger systemic problems these animals face, like our wide-scale destruction of their habitats.
The report recommends taking steps to regulate practices that are a source of reasonable and widespread animal welfare concerns.
It means no more cruel live lobster boilings, if this includes banning declawing of decapods and slaughtering them humanely. They suggest that only trained people should be allowed to sell live crustaceans.
The amendment will help remove a major inconsistency, as it will remove protection for the octopuses and other cephalopods that have been in science for years.
Time will tell if this new amendment will help or hinder the magnificent beings that we share our world with, since it is a step that really should be taken globally.
The full report on decapods can be found here.
