Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience

We searched a selection of the scientific literature to document evidence for, and explorations into reptile sentience. The intention of this review was to highlight; (1) to what extent reptile capability for emotions have been documented in the scientific literature; (2) to discuss the implications...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Helen Lambert, Gemma Carder, Neil D’Cruze
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	MDPI AG 2019-10-01
Series:	Animals
Subjects:	animal welfare reptile sentience cognition emotion tortoise turtle lizard snake exotic pet trade
Online Access:	https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/821

id	doaj-4b14e764ed854732bd585a73a62b856c
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spelling	doaj-4b14e764ed854732bd585a73a62b856c2020-11-24T21:41:24ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152019-10-0191082110.3390/ani9100821ani9100821Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile SentienceHelen Lambert0Gemma Carder1Neil D’Cruze2Animal Welfare Consultancy, 11 Orleigh Cross, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 2FX, UKBrooke, 2nd Floor, The Hallmark Building, 52-56 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3M 5JE, UKWorld Animal Protection, 5th Floor, 222 Gray’s Inn Rd, London WC1X 8HB, UKWe searched a selection of the scientific literature to document evidence for, and explorations into reptile sentience. The intention of this review was to highlight; (1) to what extent reptile capability for emotions have been documented in the scientific literature; (2) to discuss the implications this evidence has for the trade in reptiles; and (3) to outline what future research is needed to maximise their captive welfare needs. We used 168 keywords associated with sentience, to search through four journal databases and one open-access journal. We recorded studies that explored sentience in reptiles and those that recognised reptile sentience in their experiments. We found that reptiles were assumed to be capable of the following emotions and states; anxiety, distress, excitement, fear, frustration, pain, stress, and suffering, in 37 articles. We also found four articles that explored and found evidence for the capacity of reptiles to feel pleasure, emotion, and anxiety. These findings show that reptiles are considered to be capable of experiencing a range of emotions and states. This has implications for how reptiles are treated in captivity, as a better understanding could help to inform a range of different operational initiatives aimed at reducing negative animal welfare impacts, including improved husbandry and consumer behaviour change programmes.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/821animal welfarereptilesentiencecognitionemotiontortoiseturtlelizardsnakeexotic pet trade
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Helen Lambert Gemma Carder Neil D’Cruze
spellingShingle	Helen Lambert Gemma Carder Neil D’Cruze Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience Animals animal welfare reptile sentience cognition emotion tortoise turtle lizard snake exotic pet trade
author_facet	Helen Lambert Gemma Carder Neil D’Cruze
author_sort	Helen Lambert
title	Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience
title_short	Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience
title_full	Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience
title_fullStr	Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience
title_full_unstemmed	Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience
title_sort	given the cold shoulder: a review of the scientific literature for evidence of reptile sentience
publisher	MDPI AG
series	Animals
issn	2076-2615
publishDate	2019-10-01
description	We searched a selection of the scientific literature to document evidence for, and explorations into reptile sentience. The intention of this review was to highlight; (1) to what extent reptile capability for emotions have been documented in the scientific literature; (2) to discuss the implications this evidence has for the trade in reptiles; and (3) to outline what future research is needed to maximise their captive welfare needs. We used 168 keywords associated with sentience, to search through four journal databases and one open-access journal. We recorded studies that explored sentience in reptiles and those that recognised reptile sentience in their experiments. We found that reptiles were assumed to be capable of the following emotions and states; anxiety, distress, excitement, fear, frustration, pain, stress, and suffering, in 37 articles. We also found four articles that explored and found evidence for the capacity of reptiles to feel pleasure, emotion, and anxiety. These findings show that reptiles are considered to be capable of experiencing a range of emotions and states. This has implications for how reptiles are treated in captivity, as a better understanding could help to inform a range of different operational initiatives aimed at reducing negative animal welfare impacts, including improved husbandry and consumer behaviour change programmes.
topic	animal welfare reptile sentience cognition emotion tortoise turtle lizard snake exotic pet trade
url	https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/821
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Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience

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