What is it about?
The nature of sheep has been in plain view ever since the animals were domesticated about 10,000 years ago. Why their intelligence, individuality, and emotional complexity has been ignored is a question that goes well beyond Marino & Merskin’s timely target article. Not only has cognitive bias in favour of religious ideas in biology been involved, but the territorial nature of our own species is implicated as well. The tendency of Homo sapiens to see others in terms of “us” and “them” has resulted in a history of racism, speciesism, and general domination of any others that could be fitted into the category of “lesser life forms.” But whereas this tendency may be common to our species, science is supposed to be objective.
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Why is it important?
It is important to recognize the truth about the nature of the animals we use, rather than to pretend that they are nothing more than robots because it is convenient for us.
Perspectives
From my perspective, we should be careful to treat any animal that we use well, just out of respect for life.
Ila France Porcher
Independent researcher
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: On the sentience of sheep and other useful objects, Animal Sentience, January 2019, WellBeing International Publications,
DOI: 10.51291/2377-7478.1441.
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