Fish brains and behaviour indicate capacity for feeling pain

Abstract

Studies of behaviour are of major importance in understanding human and in other animals such as fish. Almost all of characteristics of mammalian are also described for fish. Emotions, feelings and learning from these are controlled in fish brain in areas anatomically different but functionally very similar to those in mammals. The evidence of and fear function in fish is so similar to that in humans and other mammals that it is logical to conclude that fish feel fear and pain. Fish are sentient beings. Donald M. Broom dmb16@cam.ac.uk, Emeritus Professor of Animal Welfare, Cambridge University, has developed concepts and methods of scientific assessment of animal welfare. http://www.animal-welfare- indicators.net/site/index.php/professor-donald-m-broom Key (2016) is scornful about evidence from studies of fish behaviour indicating that fish are aware and feel but presents a thorough explanation of in human brain and concludes that fish could not feel pain, or have any other feelings, as they do not have brain structures that allow and other feelings in humans. Section 2 of his paper emphasises the cortical origins of human pain and states that structure determines function, explaining functions of five layers of human cortex. He also argues that there is no evidence for emergence of novel regions in fish nervous system because the circuitry is inadequate and feedforward pathways are simple explanations for responses apparently parallel with what occurs in brain when something is felt in humans.