OSLO (Reuters) - Worms squirming on a fishhook feel no pain -- nor do lobsters
and crabs cooked in boiling water, a scientific study funded by the Norwegian
government has found.
"The common earthworm has a very simple nervous system -- it can be cut in two
and continue with its business," Professor Wenche Farstad, who chaired the panel
that drew up the report, said Monday.
Norway might have considered banning the use of live worms as fish bait if the
study had found they felt pain, but Farstad said "It seems to be only reflex
curling when put on the hook ... They might sense something, but it is not
painful and does not compromise their well-being."
The government called for the study on pain, discomfort and stress in
invertebrates to help in the planned revision of Norway's animal protection law.
Invertebrates cover a range of creatures from insects and spiders to mollusks
and crustaceans.
Farstad said most invertebrates, including lobsters and crabs boiled alive, do
not feel pain because, unlike mammals, they do not have a big brain to read the
signals.
Some more advanced kinds of insects, such as honeybees which display social
behavior and a capacity to learn and cooperate, deserve special care, she said.
"We have particular responsibility for animals that we have in our custody. That
is not a scientific opinion, but the ethical side of the issue," Farstad said.
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BERLIN (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz has agreed to offer "leather-free" versions of
all its luxury cars to pacify an animal rights group that says thousands of cows
are slaughtered each year for leather car seats and interiors.
After complaints from the German chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals, DaimlerChrysler said its Mercedes subsidiary will offer fabric or
synthetic leather as options. Daimler spokeswoman Ursula Mertzig-Stein said that
far from wanting leather-free cars, "our customers ... are more likely to want
even more leather at the premium end. But we'll make cars without leather on
demand."
PETA officials, who had threatened protests at the carmaker's Stuttgart
headquarters, said they were delighted.
"When you consider that the skins of four to 15 cows are needed for each car
this means thousands of cows will be spared," said PETA researcher Edmund
Haferbeck. "This is a huge victory for animal rights."
and crabs cooked in boiling water, a scientific study funded by the Norwegian
government has found.
"The common earthworm has a very simple nervous system -- it can be cut in two
and continue with its business," Professor Wenche Farstad, who chaired the panel
that drew up the report, said Monday.
Norway might have considered banning the use of live worms as fish bait if the
study had found they felt pain, but Farstad said "It seems to be only reflex
curling when put on the hook ... They might sense something, but it is not
painful and does not compromise their well-being."
The government called for the study on pain, discomfort and stress in
invertebrates to help in the planned revision of Norway's animal protection law.
Invertebrates cover a range of creatures from insects and spiders to mollusks
and crustaceans.
Farstad said most invertebrates, including lobsters and crabs boiled alive, do
not feel pain because, unlike mammals, they do not have a big brain to read the
signals.
Some more advanced kinds of insects, such as honeybees which display social
behavior and a capacity to learn and cooperate, deserve special care, she said.
"We have particular responsibility for animals that we have in our custody. That
is not a scientific opinion, but the ethical side of the issue," Farstad said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BERLIN (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz has agreed to offer "leather-free" versions of
all its luxury cars to pacify an animal rights group that says thousands of cows
are slaughtered each year for leather car seats and interiors.
After complaints from the German chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals, DaimlerChrysler said its Mercedes subsidiary will offer fabric or
synthetic leather as options. Daimler spokeswoman Ursula Mertzig-Stein said that
far from wanting leather-free cars, "our customers ... are more likely to want
even more leather at the premium end. But we'll make cars without leather on
demand."
PETA officials, who had threatened protests at the carmaker's Stuttgart
headquarters, said they were delighted.
"When you consider that the skins of four to 15 cows are needed for each car
this means thousands of cows will be spared," said PETA researcher Edmund
Haferbeck. "This is a huge victory for animal rights."
