WBI Studies Repository (WellBeing International)
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Where’s the Beef? Climate Change and Animal Product Consumption
Get PDFThe production of animal products for human consumption places unsustainable demands on a world coping with expanding human populations
Do Pets Really Save $23 Billion a Year in Health Care Costs?
Get PDFA new pet industry report claims pet-ownership saves Americans $23 billion a year in medical costs. Unfortunately, this claim is not supported by most research on human-pet interactions. For example, there is little evidence that pet owners make fewer doctor visits or are less likely to be obese
Are Humans Superior to Other Animals?
Get PDFMany nonhuman animals exhibit behaviors that vastly exceed human capacities.Imitation and social learning occur in species ranging from honey bees to chimpanzees. The evolution of our special capacity to use symbolic language to transmit knowledge made cumulative culture a uniquely human phenomenon
Plant sentience: Not now, maybe later?
Get PDFSegundo-Ortin’s target article provides compelling evidence for physiological and behavioral complexity in plants, bringing us closer to a recognition of some kind of plant cognition – but it does not as yet offer firm grounds for inferring sentience (feeling) in plants, The recent history of the scientific demonstration and recognition of animalsentience in invertebrates, for example, does not entirely rule out the possibility that further research might provide support for plant sentience. Should this ever turn out to be the case, the ethical problems raised are not insurmountable, and would not threaten the now proven case for animal sentienc
Managing Outdoor Cats
Get PDFResources to address outdoor cat management vary by state and county, as exemplified by the situation in Ohio, USA
Questions about sentience are not scientific but cultural
Get PDFAbstract: The findings of complex cognitive-like behaviours in plants are surprising and exciting. However, they do not provide a scientific reason for ascribing sentience to plants. The target article, in trying to provide evidence for sentience in plants, exposes the weakness of the science of animal consciousness in general. In this commentary, I try to explain why the scientific method is incapable of resolving the question of which organisms or systems are sentient
Big Fish Populations and Ecosystem Health
Get PDFBig fish such as sharks and tuna provide important ecosystem and tourist benefits
Appraising evidence for valence
Get PDFI make some remarks about whether evidence of valenced responses constitutes evidence of valenced states, and therefore of sentience, in organisms
Defining and Exploring Animal Sentience
Get PDFOne of the commentaries on the target article notes that animal sentience is difficult to define operationally. This response to the commentaries develops a working, usable definition of animal sentience and examines the relationships between animal emotions and sentience
Jurisprudence and animal protection
Get PDFJurisprudence is based on normative principles that go beyond instrumental reasoning and practical goals concerning what is convenient. It concerns justice and truth. The empirical evidence justifies the legal protection of various species on legal grounds. Given the risks we face regarding climate degradation, international legal agencies must expand the framework of human rights and environmental law in order to effectively protect animals and their environments