The Science of Animal Sentience - Sentience and the Precautionary Principle

Explore a thought-provoking talk on animal sentience and its ethical implications. Delve into the definitions of sentience, its importance, and the ongoing debate about which animals possess this quality. Examine the concept of sentience in fish and learn about the precautionary principle in animal welfare. Discover four key guidelines for assessing sentience and understand what constitutes valid evidence, including cognitive, behavioral, and sentience-specific indicators. Gain insights into the concept of proportionate evidence and its role in making ethical decisions regarding animal welfare. Engage with Jonathan Birch's expert analysis on this crucial topic in animal biology and ethics, presented at the Animal Satellite meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology.

Introduction
Sentience definitions
Why does sentience matter
Which animals are sentient
Sentience in fish
The precautionary principle
Four guidelines
What counts as evidence
Cognitive and behavioral evidence
Sentience evidence
proportionate evidence
conclusion