New Scientist
Image: tuppus
It could prick the conscience of seafood chefs everywhere. Prawns, lobsters and other invertebrates may feel pain, a controversial finding that could open up the debate on animal welfare.
Robert Elwood at Queen’s University Belfast in the UK and his colleagues claim they have found convincing evidence that prawns do feel pain. When they dabbed an irritant – acetic acid – onto one of 144 prawns’ two antennae, the creatures reacted by grooming and rubbing the affected antenna for up to 5 minutes. This focused reaction is similar to that seen in mammals exposed to a noxious stimulant (Animal Behaviour, DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.07.004).
Elwood says the results show a centrally organised response to the irritant. “The prolonged, specifically directed rubbing and grooming is consistent with an interpretation of pain experience,” he says.
Most researchers believe that only vertebrates feel pain, but Elwood argues that this is unlikely because of the benefits that pain confers. Feeling pain enables an animal to learn from a potentially damaging experience and modify its behaviour, improving its chances of survival, he says. Read more on newscientist.com…
