ABSTRACT

Animal welfare consideration and actions are generally addressed to animals similar to us, predominantly large mammals. Invertebrates are neglected partly because they are unknown, though new exploration of the oceans has helped with this. Also, we know little about their ecology and welfare. This is gradually changing, and the octopuses are likely to be the first beneficiaries. Scientists are finding that cephalopods are far more intelligent than we thought, with the Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness suggesting they might possess this quality of mind. Partly as a result, the European Union has described and demanded good care for cephalopods such as the octopus in captivity. Public opinion has been swayed to approval by anecdotes of octopuses doing unusual actions, and by several recent books pointing out interesting and intelligent behavior of cephalopods. Aquariums have begun to feature octopuses for them. With this progress, welfare of invertebrate animals has begun to matter. While the octopuses will be the first animal group to benefit, they may pave the way for us to see that different does not mean unworthy of regard and welfare consideration.

摘要

动物福利的考虑和行动通常针对与我们相似的动物，主要是大型哺乳动物。无脊椎动物被忽视的部分原因是它们是未知的，尽管对海洋的新探索对此有所帮助。此外，我们对它们的生态和福利知之甚少。这种情况正在逐渐改变，章鱼很可能是第一批受益者。科学家们发现头足类动物比我们想象的要聪明得多，剑桥意识宣言表明它们可能拥有这种思维品质。部分结果是，欧盟已经描述并要求对圈养的章鱼等头足类动物给予良好的照顾。章鱼做出不寻常行为的轶事已经影响了公众舆论的认可，最近的几本书指出了头足类动物的有趣和聪明的行为。水族馆已经开始为它们提供章鱼。随着这一进步，无脊椎动物的福利开始变得重要。虽然章鱼将是第一个受益的动物群体，但它们可能会为我们铺平道路，让我们看到不同并不意味着不值得尊重和福利考虑。