OUI, LES ANIMAUX ONT UNE CONSCIENCE, OUI LES ANIMAUX RESSENTENT LA SOUFFRANCE...................
MAINTENANT IL EST TEMPS QUE LA SOCIETE REAGISSE!!!
C' EST EN RESUME LA TENEUR DE CET ARTICLE MAIS VRAIMENT AVEZ-NOUS DU ATTENDRE 2014 POUR REALISER CELA?????
ET MAINTENANT COMMENT LES PROTEGER LES TRAITER DIFFEREMENT???
COMMENT SURTOUT LUTTER CONTRE LES LOBBIES QUI PROFITENT DE LA SOUFFRANCE ET DE LA MORT DES ANIMAUX??????
THAT IS THE QUESTION!!!!!!
Now that scientists have belatedly declared that mammals, birds and many other animals are conscious, it is time for society to act
ARE animals conscious? This question has a long and
venerable history. Charles Darwin asked it when pondering the evolution
of consciousness. His ideas about evolutionary continuity - that
differences between species are differences in degree rather than kind -
lead to a firm conclusion that if we have something, "they" (other
animals) have it too.
In July of this year, the question was
discussed in detail by a group of scientists gathered at the University
of Cambridge for the first annual Francis Crick Memorial Conference.
Crick, co-discoverer of DNA, spent the latter part of his career
studying consciousness and in 1994 published a book about it, The Astonishing Hypothesis: The scientific search for the soul.
The upshot of the meeting was the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness, which was publicly proclaimed by three eminent neuroscientists, David Edelman of the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, California, Philip Low of Stanford University and Christof Koch of the California Institute of Technology.
The declaration concludes that "non-human
animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological
substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit
intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates
that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates
that generate consciousness. Non-human animals, including all mammals
and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess
these neurological substrates."
My first take on the declaration was
incredulity. Did we really need this statement of the obvious? Many
renowned researchers reached the same conclusion years ago.
The declaration also contains some omissions. All
but one of the signatories are lab researchers; the declaration would
have benefited from perspectives from researchers who have done
long-term studies of wild animals, including nonhuman primates, social
carnivores, cetaceans, rodents and birds.
I was also disappointed that the
declaration did not include fish, because the evidence supporting
consciousness in this group of vertebrates is also compelling.
Nevertheless, we should applaud them for
doing this. The declaration is not aimed at scientists: as its author,
Low, said prior to the declaration: "We came to a consensus that now was
perhaps the time to make a statement for the public... It might be
obvious to everybody in this room that animals have consciousness; it is
not obvious to the rest of the world."
The important question now is: will this
declaration make a difference? What are these scientists and others
going to do now that they agree that consciousness is widespread in the
animal kingdom?
I hope the declaration will be used to
protect animals from being treated abusively and inhumanely. All too
often, sound scientific knowledge about animal cognition, emotions and
consciousness is not recognised in animal welfare laws. We know, for
example, that mice, rats and chickens display empathy, but this
knowledge has not been factored into the US Federal Animal Welfare Act.
Around 25 million of these animals, including fish, are used in invasive
research each year. They account for more than 95 per cent of animals
used in research in the US. I'm constantly astounded that those who
decide on regulations on animal use have ignored these data.
Not all legislation ignores the science. The European Union's Treaty of Lisbon,
which came into force on 1 December 2009, recognises that animals are
sentient beings and calls on member states to "pay full regard to the
welfare requirements of animals" in agriculture, fisheries, transport,
research and development and space policies.
There are still scientific sceptics about
animal consciousness. In his book, Crick wrote "it is sentimental to
idealize animals" and that for many animals life in captivity is better,
longer and less brutal than life in the wild.
Similar views still prevail in some quarters. In her recent book Why Animals Matter: Animal consciousness, animal welfare, and human well-being,
Marian Stamp Dawkins at the University of Oxford claims we still don't
really know if other animals are conscious and that we should "remain
skeptical and agnostic... Militantly agnostic if necessary."
Dawkins inexplicably ignores the data that
those at the meeting used to formulate their declaration, and goes so
far as to claim that it is actually harmful to animals to base welfare
decisions on their being conscious.
I consider this irresponsible. Those who
choose to harm animals can easily use Dawkins's position to justify
their actions. Perhaps given the conclusions of the Cambridge gathering,
what I call "Dawkins's Dangerous Idea" will finally be shelved. I don't
see how anyone who keeps abreast of the literature on animal pain,
sentience and consciousness - and has worked closely with any of a wide
array of animals - could remain sceptical and agnostic about whether
they are conscious.
Let us applaud the Cambridge Declaration
on Consciousness and work hard to get animals the protection they
deserve. And let us hope that the declaration is not simply a
grandstanding gesture but rather something with teeth, something that
leads to action. We should all take this opportunity to stop the abuse
of millions upon millions of conscious animals in the name of science,
education, food, clothing and entertainment. We owe it to them to use
what we know on their behalf and to factor compassion and empathy into
our treatment of them.
Marc Bekoff
is an emeritus professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the
University of Colorado, Boulder. He has written many essays and books
about animal emotions, animal consciousness and animal protection
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