Guest guest Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 - " BEKOFF MARC " <Marc.Bekoff <Undisclosed recipients:> Wednesday, September 03, 2003 2:03 AM A change of heart about animals > here is the text for those who couldn't enter the website for the LA Times > ... > ____ > > http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rifkin1sep01,1,6998927. story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions > > > September 1, 2003 > > COMMENTARY > > A change of heart > > They are more like us than we imagined, scientists are finding. > > By Jeremy Rifkin > Though much of big science has centered on breakthroughs in biotechnology, > nanotechnology and more esoteric questions like the age of our universe, a > quieter story has been unfolding behind the scenes in laboratories around > the world one whose effect on human perception and our understanding of > life is likely to be profound. > What these researchers are finding is that many of our fellow creatures > are more like us than we had ever imagined. They feel pain, suffer and > experience stress, affection, excitement and even love and these findings > are changing how we view animals. > Strangely enough, some of the research sponsors are fast food purveyors, > such as McDonald's, Burger King and KFC. Pressured by animal rights > activists and by growing public support for the humane treatment of > animals, these companies have financed research into, among other things, > the emotional, mental and behavioral states of our fellow creatures. > Studies on pigs' social behavior funded by McDonald's at Purdue > University, for example, have found that they crave affection and are > easily depressed if isolated or denied playtime with each other. The lack > of mental and physical stimuli can result in deterioration of health. > The European Union has taken such studies to heart and outlawed the use of > isolating pig stalls by 2012. In Germany, the government is encouraging > pig farmers to give each pig 20 seconds of human contact each day and to > provide them with toys to prevent them from fighting. > Other funding sources have fueled the growing field of study into animal > emotions and cognitive abilities. > Researchers were stunned recently by findings (published in the journal > Science) on the conceptual abilities of New Caledonian crows. In > controlled experiments, scientists at Oxford University reported that two > birds named Betty and Abel were given a choice between using two tools, > one a straight wire, the other a hooked wire, to snag a piece of meat from > inside a tube. Both chose the hooked wire. Abel, the more dominant male, > then stole Betty's hook, leaving her with only a straight wire. Betty then > used her beak to wedge the straight wire in a crack and bent it with her > beak to produce a hook. She then snagged the food from inside the tube. > Researchers repeated the experiment and she fashioned a hook out of the > wire nine of out of 10 times. > Equally impressive is Koko, the 300-pound gorilla at the Gorilla > Foundation in Northern California, who was taught sign language and has > mastered more than 1,000 signs and understands several thousand English > words. On human IQ tests, she scores between 70 and 95. > Tool-making and the development of sophisticated language skills are just > two of the many attributes we thought were exclusive to our species. > Self-awareness is another. > Some philosophers and animal behaviorists have long argued that other > animals are not capable of self-awareness because they lack a sense of > individualism. Not so, according to new studies. At the Washington > National Zoo, orangutans given mirrors explore parts of their bodies they > can't otherwise see, showing a sense of self. An orangutan named Chantek > who lives at the Atlanta Zoo used a mirror to groom his teeth and adjust > his sunglasses. > Of course, when it comes to the ultimate test of what distinguishes humans > from the other creatures, scientists have long believed that mourning for > the dead represents the real divide. It's commonly believed that other > animals have no sense of their mortality and are unable to comprehend the > concept of their own death. Not necessarily so. Animals, it appears, > experience grief. Elephants will often stand next to their dead kin for > days, occasionally touching their bodies with their trunks. > We also know that animals play, especially when young. Recent studies in > the brain chemistry of rats show that when they play, their brains release > large amounts of dopamine, a neurochemical associated with pleasure and > excitement in human beings. > Noting the striking similarities in brain anatomy and chemistry of humans > and other animals, Stephen M. Siviy, a behavioral scientist at Gettysburg > College in Pennsylvania, asks a question increasingly on the minds of > other researchers. " If you believe in evolution by natural selection, how > can you believe that feelings suddenly appeared, out of the blue, with > human beings? " > Until very recently, scientists were still advancing the idea that most > creatures behaved by sheer instinct and that what appeared to be learned > behavior was merely genetically wired activity. Now we know that geese > have to teach their goslings their migration routes. In fact, we are > finding that learning is passed on from parent to offspring far more often > than not and that most animals engage in all kinds of learned experience > brought on by continued experimentation. > So what does all of this portend for the way we treat our fellow > creatures? And for the thousands of animals subjected each year to painful > laboratory experiments? Or the millions of domestic animals raised under > the most inhumane conditions and destined for slaughter and human > consumption? Should we discourage the sale and purchase of fur coats? What > about fox hunting in the English countryside, bull fighting in Spain? > Should wild lions be caged in zoos? > Such questions are being raised. Harvard and 25 other U.S. law schools > have introduced law courses on animal rights, and an increasing number of > animal rights lawsuits are being filed. Germany recently became the first > nation to guarantee animal rights in its constitution. > The human journey is, at its core, about the extension of empathy to > broader and more inclusive domains. At first, the empathy extended only to > kin and tribe. Eventually it was extended to people of like-minded values. > In the 19th century, the first animal humane societies were established. > The current studies open up a new phase, allowing us to expand and deepen > our empathy to include the broader community of creatures with whom we > share the Earth. > > ------ > Jeremy Rifkin, author of " The Biotech Century " (Tarcher Putnam, 1998), is > the president of the Foundation on Economic Trends in Washington, D.C. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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