Animal sentience broadly refers to the ability of animals to feel, for example, by experiencing pain, pleasure, or suffering. Scientific literature generally accepts that all vertebrate species are sentient, and increasing research shows that invertebrate species are also sentient.[1] As early as the 1800s, Darwin proposed that some animals were capable of self-consciousness, a trait previously assumed to be solely human. Research has since shown that animals including dolphins, elephants, and magpies are capable of mirror self-recognition.[2] Despite the extensive […]