If Sharks Feel Pain, Why Are They Not Better Protected? (Op-Ed)

Ila France Porcher | October 17, 2014 07:37pm ET

Editor's Note: This Op-Ed has been edited to clarify the current state of the scientific debate regarding pain sensitivity in fish and to remove references to a paper in Fisheries by researchers at the University of Miami, as the paper's claims did not directly match the claims in the original Op-Ed text.

Ila France Porcher is a self-taught, published ethologist and the author of "The Shark Sessions." A wildlife artist who recorded the behavior of animals she painted, Porcher was intrigued by sharks in Tahiti and launched an intensive study to systematically observe them following the precepts of cognitive ethology. Credited with the discovery of a way to study sharks without killing them, Porcher has been called "the Jane Goodall of sharks" for her documentation of their intelligence in the wild. She contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. 

Researchers at Yale Law School made headlines recently, when they suggested that people often fail to question their political beliefs in the face of scientific discoveries that contradict them. The study showed how people reason selectively, and interpret data in such a way that it conforms with their political vantage point. 

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Forget the Pseudoscience — All Fish Feel Pain (Op-Ed)

Ila France Porcher | October 17, 2014 07:37pm ET

Ila France Porcher is a self-taught, published ethologist and the author of "The Shark Sessions." A wildlife artist who recorded the behavior of animals she painted, Porcher was intrigued by sharks in Tahiti and launched an intensive study to systematically observe them following the precepts of cognitive ethology. Credited with the discovery of a way to study sharks without killing them, Porcher has been called "the Jane Goodall of sharks" for her documentation of their intelligence in the wild. She contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. 

Researchers at Yale Law School made headlines recently, when they suggested that people often fail to question their political beliefs in the face of scientific discoveries that contradict them. The study showed how people reason selectively, and interpret data in such a way that it conforms with their political vantage point. 

This phenomenon is evident in the pseudoscience related to fisheries, a multi-billion dollar industry that has taken control of the planet's wild fish populations and the public's perceptions of these animals. Despite available facts, industry conclusions are always in favor of fishermen, not fish. 

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Researcher finds that fish are intelligent and feel pain like humans

Are clown fish more intelligent than we give them credit for?

New research suggests that fish are, in fact, far more intelligent than many previously believed.

They have very good memories, live in complex social communities where they keep track of individuals, and can learn from one another. This helps to develop stable cultural traditions.

Fish even recognise themselves and others. They also cooperate with one another and show signs of Machiavellian intelligence, such as cooperation and reconciliation. They build complex structures, are capable of using tools, and use the same methods for keeping track of quantities as humans do.

These findings, published by Culum Brown of Macquarie University in Australia in the journal Animal Cognition, argue that more consideration should be given to fish welfare and anti-cruelty issues.

For the most part the primary senses of fish are just as good, says Brown, and in many cases better than those of humans.

Their behaviour is very much the same as that of primates, except that fish do not have the ability to imitate.

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Squid Reveal the Sweet Side of Pain

By Tanya Lewis, Staff Writer | May 08, 2014 02:44pm ET

Lasting feelings of pain or anxiety after an injury may seem perplexing, but they serve an evolutionary purpose, research suggests.

Squid that behave more vigilantly after even a minor injury are more likely to survive than their more brazen counterparts, a new study reveals. The findings suggest that persistent pain may be more useful than once thought, according to the study published today (May 8) in the journal Current Biology.

This study provides the first direct evidence to suggest that animals developed heightened sensitivity— which promotes pain in some animals — in response to natural selection, particularly to avoid predators, said study researcher Edgar Walters, a biologist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

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Article: Do Fish Feel Pain? The Debate Continues

Do fish feel pain? The question is as old as angling itself, but it has never been answered definitively.

A recent study now concludes that fish lack the necessary pain receptors in their brains to experience pain the way humans and other animals do.

While fish have nociceptors — sensory receptors that respond to physically damaging objects and events by sending warning signals to the brain — these receptors don't function in the same way in fish as they do in humans, according to the study's authors.

"Even if fishes were conscious, it is unwarranted to assume that they possess a humanlike capacity for pain," the authors of the study, published in the latest issue of Fish and Fisheries, wrote in the study's abstract.

The researchers claim that one group of nociceptors, known as C-fiber nociceptors, is responsible for pain in humans but is rare in finned fishes and absent in sharks, ray and skates.

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Leading by the Nose: Star-Nosed Mole Reveals How Mammals Perceive Touch, Pain

Jan. 30, 2013 — The most sensitive patch of mammalian skin known to us isn't human but on the star-shaped tip of the star-nosed mole's snout. Researchers studying this organ have found that the star has a higher proportion of touch-sensitive nerve endings than pain receptors, according to a study published Jan. 30 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Diana Bautista and colleagues from the University of California, Berkeley and Vanderbilt University.

Touch and pain are closely intertwined sensations, but very little is known about how these sensations are detected in our cells. In this study, the authors turned to a unique species for answers: the star-nosed mole. In addition to its distinction as the fastest-eating mammal known, the star-nosed mole also possesses one of the most sensitive tactile organs known in the animal kingdom. The star on its nose has the highest density of nerve endings known in any mammalian skin, with over 100,000 fibers in a patch of skin about 1 cm. in diameter. The authors found these nerve endings significantly enriched in neurons sensitive to light touch, with a lower proportion of neurons that detect and respond to pain.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130130184156.htm

Further evidence crabs and other crustaceans feel pain

Scientists have found further evidence that crustaceans feel pain.

A study has revealed that the shore crab, a close relative of the species we use for food, responds to electric shocks and then goes on to avoid them.

Previous research has shown that prawns and hermit crabs also react to painful situations.

The scientists say the findings suggest the food and aquaculture industry should rethink how it treats these animals.

The work is published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Professor Bob Elwood, from Queen's University Belfast, told the BBC's Science in Action programme: "I don't know what goes on in a crab's mind.... but what I can say is the whole behaviour goes beyond a straightforward reflex response and it fits all the criteria of pain."

Shell shocked

Pain is a subjective experience and studying it in animals - especially invertebrates such as crabs - is not easy.

The researchers placed the crabs in an arena and studied how the responded to electric shocks

But Prof Elwood designed an experiment to assess how crustaceans respond to potentially painful situations.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21044077

Sudden Aggression in Dogs Often a Sign of Pain

Sudden changes in a dog's temperament, for example episodes of aggression, could be related to some internal pain they are feeling, which sets them on edge if they are touched, new research indicates.

"If the pet is handled when in pain, it will quickly act aggressively to avoid more discomfort without the owner being able to prevent it," study researcher Tomàs Camps, of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, in Spain, said in a statement. "Dogs that had never been aggressive before the onset of pain began to behave in this way in situations where an attempt is made to control them."

Irritability from pain can make otherwise affectionate dogs violent and already aggressive dogs even more aggressive. As such, the researchers say, their findings support the importance of the diagnosis and treatment of pain in dogs.

Aggressive animals
Several factors can explain a barking, aggressive dog: The conditions of the mother during gestation, the handling of the puppy in the neonatal phase, the age at weaning, the experiences of the animal during the socializing phase, diet, exercise, genetics and learning techniques based on active punishment during adulthood.


Focusing only on sudden increases in aggression, the researchers studied 12 dogs (Giant schnauzer, Irish setter, Pit-bull, Dalmatian, two German shepherds, Neapolitan Mastiff, Shih-tzu, Bobtail, Catalan Sheepdog, Chow-chow and Doberman) that were brought to the university's veterinary hospital by their owners in 2010 and 2011.


Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/20969-aggressive-dogs-hip-pain.html