Hello,

With the increase in exposure of wild animals. I believe it is time for reclassification of some of the most sentient animals.

Looking at some extracts of other peoples views we can look into this more.

[1] I have a belief that chimps, gorillas, whales, dolphins, and elephants (among others) should be reclassified as "sentient creatures," or at least something similar. They consistently display high levels of intelligence including complex emotions as well as communication and should be on a different level than just "wild animal." Just because they can't put on a suit and drive to work doesn't mean they aren't "people."

[2] Sentient animals are aware of their feelings and emotions. These could be negative feelings such as pain, frustration and fear. It is logical to suppose that sentient animals also enjoy feelings of comfort, enjoyment, contentment, and perhaps even great delight and joy.

Science shows us some interesting abilities in farm animals:

Sheep can recognise up to 50 other sheep’s faces and remember them for two years
Cows show excitement when they discover how to open a gate leading to a food reward
Mother hens teach their chicks which foods are good to eat
Lame meat chickens choose to eat food which contains a painkiller.

[3] Humans are not uniquely sentient

People surely are not exceptional or alone in the arena of sentience. We need to abandon the anthropocentric view that only big-brained animals such as ourselves, nonhuman great apes, elephants and cetaceans (dolphins and whales) have sufficient mental capacities for complex forms of sentience and consciousness.

So, the interesting and challenging question is why has sentience evolved in diverse species, not if it has evolved. It's time to stop pretending that people don't know if other animals are sentient: We do indeed know what other animals want and need, and we must accept that fact.

Nonhuman-animal minds aren't as private as some people claim them to be. Surely, we might miss out on some of the nitty-gritty details, but it is safe to say that other animals want to live in peace and safety and absent from fear, pain and suffering, just as we do.

(Nonhuman animals even worry — despite the erroneous claim that they don't, ample evidence shows they do worry about their well-being ("Do Animals Worry and Lose Sleep When They're Troubled?"), and that excessive worrying and a lack of rest and sleep can be costly.)

While some people still claim that we do not know that other animals are sentient beings, countless animals continue to suffer in the most egregious ways as they are used and abused for research, education, food, clothing and entertainment. And indeed, animal sentience is assumed in many comparative studies and recent legislation — such as policies protecting chimpanzees from invasive research, based on what is known about these amazing sentient beings. [America's Fleeting Chance to Correct Chimps' Endangered Status]

Society doesn't need any additional invasive research to move on and strongly declare that other animals are sentient, though studies continue. For example, Farm Sanctuary has put out a call for proposals for observational research on the cognitive and emotional lives of farm animals. Some researchers are indeed looking into using brain imaging to access the minds of other animals (see for example Emory University's Gregory Berns's work with dogs; Dr. Berns told me that he now has 11 dogs who are "MRI-certified").

Moving forward as a society

The time is now to shelve outdated and unsupported ideas about animal sentience and to factor sentience into all of the innumerable ways in which we encounter other animals. When the Cambridge Declaration was made public, there was a lot of pomp, champagne and media coverage. There is no need to have this fanfare for a Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience. It can be a deep, personal, and inspirational journey that comes from each of our hearts — and such a realisation has a strong, and rapidly growing evidence-based foundation.

The animals will be grateful and warmly thank us for paying attention to the science of animal sentience. When we listen to our hearts, we are recognising how much we know about what other animals are feeling and that we owe it to them to protect them however we can. Please, let's do it now. It is easy to do, and we can do no less.

Let's all make an effort of recognising other communities of animals just like we are. Reclassification would change the way animals are looked at through everyones eyes.

Please watch these videos below on examples of clear sentiency.

https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/a7sax5/a_chimpanzee_living_at_a_zoo_in_miami_was/​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6_g6nnxPdQ​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZPZD1JV5QQ

Many examples show how "wild" animals feel and show emotions. Not only to humans but also other animals. Please make the right decision.

 

 

 

[1] http://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/a7sax5/-/ec5xblg

[2] https://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/animal-sentience/

[3] https://www.livescience.com/39481-time-to-declare-animal-sentience.html