Source record
Defining and assessing animal pain
Lynne Sneddon, Robert Elwood, Shelley Adamo, Matthew Leach (2014). Animal Behaviour.
- Last reviewed
- Reviewer
- Editorial placeholder
- Status
- sample
Sample data. The figures and sources on this page are demonstration records showing how evidence will be presented. They are approximate and have not yet been through our review process. Read about how we will verify evidence.
Key findings
- Proposes criteria for assessing pain across species; mammals, birds and fish meet most criteria for pain experience.
Record
- Source type
- Peer Reviewed Study
- Study type
- Review
- Topics
- Sentience & cognition
- Geography
- Not applicable
- Funding & conflicts
- Not recorded.
- Source quality
- Moderate evidence
Limitations
- Pain in animals is inferred from behaviour and physiology; subjective experience cannot be measured directly.
Claims this source supports
AnimalsStrong evidence
There is broad scientific agreement that mammals, birds and fish can experience pain, and growing evidence that some invertebrates such as decapod crustaceans can too.
The animals we farm can feel pain. For fish the evidence is strong; for crabs and lobsters it is now considered substantial.