Animal welfare is a crucial issue because sentient animals are capable of experiencing emotions such as fear, pain, joy and contentment.
Some animal scientists specialise in investigating the range of emotions that animals can feel. The findings can help support campaigns to give sentient animals the recognition that they deserve.
Until relatively recently, some scientists thought it was impossible to scientifically study animal emotion, and anyone who did so was thought to be wrongly attributing human thoughts and feelings to animals (anthropomorphism). Recently scientists like Franz de Waal have paved the way for the study of animal emotion. They think it is important to acknowledge the similarities between humans and other animals.
Researchers borrowed techniques used in human psychology to study the emotions of sheep. Generally, we think we can tell what a human is feeling from the expression on their face – researchers therefore looked for similar clues in the position of the sheep’s ears.
Surprises, boredom and predictability all affected the ears positions of the sheep. If the sheep had certain expectations of what was going to happen next, or a sense of control over the situation, this could affect their reactions. They were found to experience fear, anger, rage, despair, boredom, disgust and happiness.
This is very similar to humans, and the researchers believe it’s safe to assume that sheep do not only show emotions but also ‘feel’ them too.
Source
Veissier, I., Boissy, A., Desire, L., Greiveldinger, L. (2009) Animals’ emotions: studies in sheep using appraisal theories. Animal Welfare: 18, pp 347-354.
Posted in Emotions, Farm Animals, Sheep | No Comments »
Sticking with you. Copyright Compassion/Elli Goodlet
Hundreds of sheep have been given refuge at Farm Animal Sanctuary. Over time, they have divided naturally into two large flocks of around 200. All the sheep spend winter living together in large barns and yet in Spring, year after year, they will choose to re-group into almost exactly the same flocks as before.
Cambridge scientist Keith Kendrick found that sheep can remember at least 50 different faces for over 2 years.
These observations show the strength of sheep social bonds and the importance of respecting these relationships in modern farming systems. Sheep are often separated from their usual companions during transport, at transit points and at slaughter. Compassion believes that full account of animal sentience must be taken throughout an animal’s life.
Sources:
The Farm Animal Sanctuary, Evesham, UK.
Kendrick, K. et al. (2001) Sheep don’t forget a face. Nature, 414 (6860): 165-6.
Tags: animal agriculture, companionship, friendship, Intelligence, Memory, sentience, Sheep
Posted in Farm Animals, Sheep | No Comments »
The importance of the relationship between a ewe and her adopted lamb. Image copyright Compassion/Elli Goodlet.
Janet Taylor of Farm Animal Sanctuary near Worcester told us this touching tale of two sheep. Jasmine was a mature ewe who hadn’t had a lamb for 6 or 7 years. A group of newly rescued sheep moved into the field next to her, including some orphaned lambs, and over the next few days she began calling to one orphan named Alfie. He was calling back to her and eventually Janet decided to put him over the fence to be with her – and see what happened.
Alfie began to try to suckle Jasmine, as he would have done his biological mother, and Jasmine let him do so. Janet felt that at least this would provide him with the comfort of contact with a ‘mother’ but continued to bottle-feed him. Amazingly, Jasmine began to produce milk herself and was able to feed her newly adopted lamb as her own.
We have heard about a number of female animals who have adopted and fed orphaned youngsters. This even happens across species; for example, pigs are known to have adopted newborn puppies.
This shows the strength of both the maternal instinct and the need to have care from a mother figure. Perhaps all the species we commonly farm have this need but sadly, they are often denied it. In the light of our modern scientific understanding of animal sentience, Compassion in World Farming believes that farming policy and practice must take full account of animal sentience – as is required by European Union law.
Tags: adoption, animal farming, communicatio, Emotions, lamb, maternal bond, mother, orphan, sanctuary, sentience, Sheep, suckling
Posted in Family bonds, Maternal care, Sheep, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Sheep love company, so being alone causes them distress. Researchers have found that sheep can remember the faces of 50 sheep pals for at least two years.
Dr Keith Kendrick at Cambridge also found that sheep prefer pictures of contented sheep and smiling humans, rather than stressed sheep and angry humans. He said that sheep “may have much richer emotional lives than we would give them credit for.”
Company is important for sheep. Image: Compassion/Martin Usborne
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The Inner World of Farm Animals: Their Amazing Social, Emotional and Intellectual Capacities
This beautiful book by Amy Hatkoff fully lives up to its title. At first glance it may seem like a neat coffee table book, as it contains quality photos of farm animals accompanied by heart-warming stories about individual farm animals who have displayed a wide array of clever or generous actions. Presumably, if one pig can show presence of mind in a human crisis then the presumption would be that other pigs would have this capacity too. (In this case the pig brought passers-by to the help of her owner who was indoors having a heart attack.)
Amy Hatkoff has backed up these stories with short passages based on the work of leading animal welfare scientists such as Professors Marian Dawkins and Mike Mendl, showing the unexpected intelligence of farm animals, such as long-term recognition of missing comrades, delight upon discovering a new technique, and ability to operate a computer game.
Compassion in World Farming highly recommends this book. It would make a lovely gift for a forthcoming birthday or seasonal celebration. We can guarantee that any animal-loving friend will delight in this book. We can nearly guarantee that the sceptic will have their eyes opened! Amy Hatkoff has done the animals a real service.
The Inner World of Farm Animals: Their Amazing Social, Emotional and Intellectual Capacities
By Amy Hatkoff
Published by Stewart, Tabori and Chang (New York), 2009
UK Distributors: ABRAMS/STC Tel: 0207 713 2066
£10.99 (UK), $19.95 (US)
Posted in Books, Cattle, Chickens & hens, Communicating, Emotions, Family bonds, Farm Animals, General, Natural behaviour, Pigs, Sheep | No Comments »