Ethics and invertebrates: a cephalopod perspective

This paper first explores 3 philosophical bases for attitudes to invertebrates, Contractarian/Kantian, Utilitarian, and Rights-based, and what they lead us to conclude about how we use and care for these animals. We next discuss the problems of evaluating pain and suffering in invertebrates, pointin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Diseases of aquatic organisms 2007-05, Vol.75 (2), p.119-129
Main Authors: Mather, Jennifer A, Anderson, Roland C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Welfare - ethics
Animals
Aquaculture - ethics
Awareness - ethics
Behavior, Animal
Cephalopoda - physiology
Invertebrata
Learning
Marine
Pain - veterinary
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Summary:This paper first explores 3 philosophical bases for attitudes to invertebrates, Contractarian/Kantian, Utilitarian, and Rights-based, and what they lead us to conclude about how we use and care for these animals. We next discuss the problems of evaluating pain and suffering in invertebrates, pointing out that physiological responses to stress are widely similar across the animal kingdom and that most animals show behavioral responses to potentially painful stimuli. Since cephalopods are often used as a test group for consideration of pain, distress and proper conditions for captivity and handling, we evaluate their behavioral and cognitive capacities. Given these capacities, we then discuss practical issues: minimization of their pain and suffering during harvesting for food; ensuring that captive cephalopods are properly cared for, stimulated and allowed to live as full a life as possible; and, lastly, working for their conservation.
ISSN:0177-5103
1616-1580
DOI:10.3354/dao075119