Octopuses and their relatives are a new animal welfare frontier
The HinduWe named him Squirt – not because he was the smallest of the 16 cuttlefish in the pool, but because anyone with the audacity to scoop him into a separate tank to study him was likely to get soaked. But there’s undeniably something special about cephalopods – the class of ocean-dwelling invertebrates that includes cuttlefish, squid and octopus. The best-studied species of octopus, Octopus vulgaris, has about 500 million neurons; that’s relatively large for its small body size and similar to a starling, rabbit or turkey. A new frontier for animal welfare Considering what’s known about their brain structures, sensory systems and learning capacity, it appears that cephalopods as a group may be similar in intelligence to vertebrates as a group. Since many societies have animal welfare standards for mice, rats, chickens and other vertebrates, logic would suggest that there’s an equal case for regulations enforcing humane treatment of cephalopods.
History of this topic
Octopuses and fish recorded hunting together as a team to catch more prey
The Independent
Octopuses sometimes punch fish out of spite, scientists say
The Independent
Octopuses: Big, wet, strong puppies with tools
SalonDiscover Related