34544Y143 On 7 July 2012 leading experts in neuro-


BIOLOGY
AND THE
COGNITIVE SCIENCES GATHERED
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE,
AND SIGNED THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION ON CONSCIOUSNESS, WHICH SAYS THAT
'CONVERGENT EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT NON-HUMAN ANIMALS HAVE THE NEUROANATOMICAL,
NEUROCHEMICAL AND NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL SUBSTRATES OF CONSCIOUS STATES ALONG WITH
THE CAPACITY TO EXHIBIT INTENTIONAL BEHAVIOURS. CONSEQUENTLY, THE WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE
INDICATES THAT HUMANS ARE NOT UNIQUE IN POSSESSING THE NEUROLOGICAL SUBSTRATES THAT
GENERATE CONSCIOUSNESS. Non-human animals, including mammals & birds, and many other
creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates!'
This declaration stops short of saying that other animals are conscious, because we still lack
the smoking gun. But it does shift the burden of proof to those who think otherwise. Responding to the
shifting winds of the scientific community, in May 2015 New Zealand became the first country
in the world to legally recognise animals as sentient beings, when the New Zealand parliament passed
the Animal Welfare Amendment Act! The Act stipulates that it is now obligatory to recognise
animals as sentient, and hence attend properly to their welfare in contexts
such as animal husbandry. In such a country with far more sheep
than humans (30 million VS 4.5 million), thàt ìs a very
significant statement. The Canadian province of
Quebec has since passed a
similar Act, many other
countries are likely
to follow
suit.

09 mei 2019 - bewerkt op 12 mei 2019 - meld ongepast verhaal
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