What is “animal sentience” or recognizing animals as sentient beings ?

“Animal sentience” refers to a very specific notion according to which animals are living beings capable of feeling emotions. Pavel Rodimov/Getty Images

When we approach the issue of animal welfare, a philosophical concept is increasingly put forward, particularly in activist spheres: "animal sentience". Essential for advancing the cause of animals, this term remains little known to the general public. We'll explain to you what it's about.

Do you agree that animals are living beings endowed with consciousness and sensitivity in the same way as humans?? Or do you rather side with the speciesists who persist in saying that humans are superior to animals ? This debate, more topical than ever, is not new. From the 18th century, certain philosophers raised the subject of animal sensitivity, like the English thinker Jeremy Bentham in his work "Introduction to the principles of morality and legislation" ("An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation"), published in 1789.

But as explained in a study published in 2006 in the journal Applied Animal Behavoir Science written by Ian J.H. Duncan, professor of applied ethology at the University of Guelph (Canada) However, we had to wait until the end of the 20th century for interest in animal sensitivity to really assert itself. "In the last quarter of the 20th century, interest in animal sentience increased and animal welfare specialists quickly understood that welfare problems could be better addressed if we understood what animals felt", explains the researcher.

In 2024, we are talking more about “animal sentience”. This portmanteau which compiles the terms of "sensitivity" and "consciousness" refers to a very specific notion according to which animals are living beings capable of feeling emotions such as pain, joy, pleasure or fear, as well as remembering their experiences and perceiving risks, in the same way than humans therefore. As pointed out in an article published in 2005 in issue 26 of Cahiers antispécistes, the term animal sentience was slow to emerge in France. "The Anglo-Saxons have the noun sentience (and the adjective sentient) to designate this, the Italians the term senzienza (adj. senziente). In French, we do not have the exact equivalent".

It is only in 2020 that the word '"sentience" officially enters the French dictionary, adopted by Larousse with the following definition: "For a living being, capacity to feel emotions, pain, well-being,& ;nbsp;etc and to subjectively perceive their environment and life experiences". Defenders of the animal cause now prefer this term to that of animal sensitivity.

"The introduction into Larousse of the word sentience, moreover with this definition which goes beyond the word sensibility, is very good news for linguists who are always delighted to see the French language change ;enrich new terms as precisely defined, but also and above all for all beings, whose emotions and consciousness were masked, diminished, or even denied in French by the word sensitivity, too polysemous and too often used without its semantic nuances to translate the word sentience from English", explains La Fondation Droit Animal in an article published shortly after the Larousse announcement.

An acceptance that varies depending on the animal

The term may have appeared in the French language for four years, but the general public is still unfamiliar with it. But among certain people, this lack of knowledge goes beyond the etymological symbolism and results more from a lack of adherence, which is not confined to French customs. In February 2023, a British study carried out with 2,417 participants showed that consumers still have difficulty understanding that animals are sentient beings.

The acceptance of sentience, however, varies significantly depending on the animal we are talking about. The previously cited study notably compared the opinions of respondents by showing them pigs, then dogs. The experiment showed that participants were inclined to consider dogs as sentient beings, but that this was less the case for pigs.

A phenomenon which can be explained by what the American essayist Carol J. Adams theorized and named the "absent referent" in his essay "The Sexual Politics of Meat" (1990). "The animal, through its name and its body, is made absent so that the meat can exist", explains the author. In other words, consumers mainly think about the piece of meat presented on their plate, which no longer really resembles the animal from which it comes. This is of course different in the case of a dog or a cat, since they are domestic animals (at least in our Western cultures) than human beings do not eat and with whom they instead develop an emotional bond.

Towards animal welfare labeling?

Although morals have evolved in recent years and animal welfare is gaining ground, educational work is still necessary, particularly with regard to the recognition of farmed animals as sentient beings. At the beginning of May, the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) published the guidelines for a recommendation for the labeling of food products. ;rsquo;animal origin specific to the welfare of farmed animals.

Based on the principle of Nutri-Score, the idea is to raise consumer awareness by assigning a rating to the product at five levels of well-being, ranging from the best (A) to the lowest ( E). The evaluation criteria encompass all stages of the animals' lives, ranging from breeding techniques, breeder practices, to housing and feeding .

Another of the specificities of this labeling would also be to take into account the ancestors of the animals. "We cannot say that a production respects animal welfare if we know nothing about the living conditions of the previous generation", underlines Julie Chiron, expertise coordinator for Anses. "This classification, easily understandable for the consumer, should also help producers to gradually improve consideration of animal welfare" , pleads the health agency.