Abstract
Simple SummaryCurrent European legislation that protects animals used for scientific purposes excludes decapod crustaceans (for example, lobster, crab and crayfish) on the grounds that they are non-sentient and, therefore, incapable of suffering. However, recent work suggests that this view requires substantial revision. Our current understanding of the nervous systems and behavior of decapods suggests an urgent need to amend and update all relevant legislation. This paper examines recent experiments that suggest sentience and how that work has changed current opinion. It reflects on the use of decapods as models in biomedical research and in ecotoxicology, and it recommends that these animals should be included in the European protection legislation.Decapod crustaceans are widely used as experimental models, due to their biology, their sensitivity to pollutants and/or their convenience of collection and use. Decapods have been viewed as being non-sentient, and are not covered by current legislation from the European Parliament. However, recent studies suggest it is likely that they experience pain and may have the capacity to suffer. Accordingly, there is ethical concern regarding their continued use in research in the absence of protective measures. We argue that their welfare should be taken into account and included in ethical review processes that include the assessment of welfare and the minimization or alleviation of potential pain. We review the current use of these animals in research and the recent experiments that suggest sentience in this group. We also review recent changes in the views of scientists, veterinary scientists and animal charity groups, and their conclusion that these animals are likely to be sentient, and that changes in legislation are needed to protect them. A precautionary approach should be adopted to safeguard these animals from possible pain and suffering. Finally, we recommend that decapods be included in the European legislation concerning the welfare of animals used in experimentation.
Highlights
Given that “all animals have an intrinsic value”, (Recital 12, Council of European, 2010), it is necessary to improve the welfare of decapods used for experimental and other scientific purposes
In the light of recent evidence that decapods are probably sentient and probably have the ability to experience pain, the precautionary principle should be invoked in designing animal welfare and protection legislation, and should be applied to the entire order [102]
Described the precautionary principle as “Where there are threats of serious, negative animal welfare outcomes, lack of full scientific certainty as to the sentience of the animals in question shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent those outcomes”
Summary
The high motivation to avoid the pain should improve the learning and protect the animal from future damage This was investigated by Magee and Elwood [67], by repeatedly placing shore crabs in the center of a brightly lit area that had two dark shelters. Lactate was significantly higher in shocked than non-shocked crabs, showing that the physiological stress response was caused by the noxious stimulus rather than the behavior that it elicited. The implication of this is that the shock was sufficiently aversive to induce a stress response in a similar way to that seen in vertebrates in pain.
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