do octopus feel pain when eaten alive

Are baby octopus really babies? That would be the quickest, easiest way to render an animal that might be conscious not conscious. edit: Interesting the thumbs down. The designations of welfare, cruelty, and simple squeamishness are not always clear-cut—especially in issues surrounding the types of animals that we don't hold particularly near and dear. But in today's day and age, we get to see all the glorious FAIL! I've talked to other people about this—there is cultural sensitivity, and there is suffering. If you look at us, most of our neurons are in our brain, and for the octopus, three-fifths of its neurons are in its arms. There's no doubt about it. And one of the things they looked at in terms of rules was, OK, we have to give consideration to vertebrates, but are there any invertebrates that we should give ethical consideration to? But don't feel TOO sorry for her . You can give an animal a quick and minimally painful death before you eat it—at the least, you can destroy the brain. It's not just a sense of direction, it's a sense of where you've been. There is absolutely no doubt that they feel pain. The reaction is an automatic response to the sodium chloride, or salt, in the soy sauce. What's going on physically when their arms continue to move after they've been cut off? What do you think an octopus is experiencing when it's being cut into pieces and eaten alive? But goodness knows, I have eaten raw oysters and raw clams. Of eating an octopus alive, Dr. Jennifer Mather, an expert on cephalopods and a psychology professor at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, says the following: “ [T]he octopus, which you’ve been chopping to pieces, is feeling pain every time you do it. There's an interesting situation because the European Union, over the last few years, looked at all of their animal welfare rules. These are intelligent animals with minds of their own, and I doubt they would enjoy being eaten. But they really don't have the central nervous system to be, so to speak, making decisions and suffering. . In Seoul, South Korea, there are entire restaurants centered around dining on octopuses whose arms continue to squirm when they're placed on your plate—and as they wriggle down your throat. This article originally appeared on MUNCHIES in December 2014. This article originally appeared on MUNCHIES in December 2014. She's in pain and crying, and it takes her 34 long seconds to pull it off. What about other types of sea creatures—the live langoustine, for example, that caused waves for Copenhagen's Noma? Short of cannibalism, the most controversial issues in meat-eating today are likely the consumption of dog meat—due to our social and sentimental attachments to the canine species—and the practice of eating live animals. They can anticipate a painful, difficult, stressful situation—they can remember it. There's a wonderful video from some guys in Australia—there are several that have done this actually—they need someplace to hide while they rest. What I would do is put it in the freezer. Humans have this protein, too, but our store of the molecule is much less active than an octopus’. I find it difficult to have any sympathy for people who choke on a live animal that they're eating piece by piece. Often times, the octopus is chopped up while still living and breathing, feeling every bit of the pain. In the written material that PETA has issued to accompany the video, octopus expert Jennifer Mather makes it clear, as well, that octopuses feel … But they really don't have the central nervous system to be, so to speak, making decisions and suffering. Not only can they remember where home is, but they can go out and hunt, come back, and then go out the next day and hunt in a different place. A 2010 article in The Guardian ignited heavy opinions for opening discussion about Copenhagen restaurant noma's dish of still-writhing langoustine; since, the issue has popped up here and there in editorials and YouTube videos. Serves her right,” one person wrote. Even though plants probable don't feel pain and most defiantly don't suffer from pain signals. I think it was the Hawaiians who used to bite down on the brain to kill it quickly. You don't have to figure out exactly where the brain is, and you don't have to worry about an anaesthetic tainting the flavor of the meat. Jennifer Mather, PhD: It's not something I've come across in my research. Understanding that if there's a crab under a rock and you got it, there might not be another crab for that rock for a while. Octopuses are eaten alive in several countries around the world, including the USA. I hoped that she could offer greater insight into pain and sentience in octopus terms. Of all people, Julia Child had instructions for cutting the brain of a lobster to kill it before you boil it. She commented on the practice of cooking and eating octopuses alive. It's just as painful as if it were a hog, a fish, or a rabbit, if you chopped a rabbit's leg off piece by piece. I suspect that they're just throwing an octopus on a chopping block and cutting off pieces as they go, and they are absolutely causing that animal suffering. A video has been making the rounds of a woman in China who has a live octopus stuck to her face. I think it was the Hawaiians who used to bite down on the brain to kill it quickly. They're wonderful animals. I know this from person experience and from what I've heard from others. “If I was an octopus trying to be eaten alive I would have done the same. There's a wonderful video from some guys in Australia—there are several that have done this actually—they need someplace to hide while they rest. It's just as painful as if it were a hog, a fish, or a rabbit, if you chopped a rabbit's leg off piece by piece. But that doesn't mean that crustaceans can't experience the same pain stimuli, anticipation, and memory of painful events that an octopus does. Do Octopuses Feel Pain? She says, “There is absolutely no doubt that they feel pain. They have a nervous system which is much more distributed than ours…. The designations of welfare, cruelty, and simple squeamishness are not always clear-cut—especially in issues surrounding the types of animals that we don't hold particularly near and dear. "I understand your emotional response but it's unconfirmed by fact." What about other types of sea creatures—the live langoustine, for example, that caused waves for Copenhagen's Noma? One of them dug up a coconut shell and hauled it around with it, and when it got to the point where it wanted to rest, it picked up the shell, tucked itself inside of it, and went to sleep. The evidence for sentience in squids, octopuses, and crustaceans is increasingly clear. But, do octopuses experience would-be painful experiences the same way mice do? They use tools, and they'll think about what they want to do with something even before they do it. She has studied octopuses and their close relatives since 1978, and has done extensive field research into the cephalopod mind. Animal welfare groups have objected to this practice on the basis that octopuses can experience pain. This is extremely barbaric to have these … MUNCHIES: Have you come across the practice of eating live octopus over the course of your research on cephalopods? So it’s a barbaric thing to do to the animal.”—Cephalopod expert Dr. Jennifer Mather A 2010 article in The Guardian ignited heavy opinions for opening discussion about Copenhagen restaurant noma's dish of still-writhing langoustine; since, the issue has popped up here and there in editorials and YouTube videos. It’s just as painful as if it were a hog, a fish, or a rabbit, if you chopped a rabbit’s leg off piece by piece. MUNCHIES: Have you come across the practice of eating live octopus over the course of your research on cephalopods? “ [T]he octopus, which you’ve been chopping to pieces, is feeling pain every time you do it. But in some corners of the world, there is less taboo assigned to eating the still-breathing. Of eating an octopus alive, Dr. Jennifer Mather, an expert on cephalopods and a psychology professor at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, says the following: “ [T]he octopus, which you’ve been chopping to … dining on octopuses whose arms continue to squirm. The fact is that many octopi have their tentacles cut off while they're still alive, that is torture, and I am not okay with torture. Rather than trying to reckon with apples and oranges (or spaniels and squids), I consulted cephalopod expert Jennifer Mather, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta and author of numerous studies on octopus and cephalopod sentience, including "Cephalopod consciousness: Behavioral evidence" and "Ethics and invertebrates: a cephalopod perspective." We asked a cephalopod expert how it feels for an octopus who is on the receiving end. In your research, particularly with octopus, what was the most surprising evidence of anecdote you found about their intelligence or sense of sentience? But there was a discussion I had with PETA about someone who was frying octopuses alive in New York, and I was asked to comment on that. The octopus has a nervous system which is much more distributed than ours. Octopuses are sometimes eaten or prepared alive, a practice that is controversial due to scientific evidence that octopuses experience pain. In the U.S., Europe and around the world, it is common practice to eat oysters and lobsters alive. In Seoul, South Korea, there are entire restaurants centered around dining on octopuses whose arms continue to squirm when they're placed on your plate—and as they wriggle down your throat. There is absolutely no doubt that they feel pain. “[T]he octopus, which you’ve been chopping to pieces, is feeling pain every time you do it. There's everything to learn about them. To do this, octopus use a protein called protein acetylcholinesterase, or AChE. dining on octopuses whose arms continue to squirm. ... researchers have observed an octopus’s color changing and activity patterns and looked for any self-inflicted harm (swimming into the side of a tank or eating … There is absolutely no doubt that they feel pain. Crustaceans, cephalopods, and mollusks don't have any internal temperature regulation, so if you freeze them you can get them to the point where they're really not conscious. And one of the things they looked at in terms of rules was, OK, we have to give consideration to vertebrates, but are there any invertebrates that we should give ethical consideration to? Short of cannibalism, the most controversial issues in meat-eating today are likely the consumption of dog meat—due to our social and sentimental attachments to the canine species—and the practice of eating live animals. If they killed the octopus first then I wouldn't care, but the kept it alive just to inflict pain by cutting off it's legs. No animal deserves to be hacked to pieces while still alive. The recently deceased squid may lack a brain, but its muscle cells, which receive electrical commands, are still intact , NPR reports. . The octopus has a nervous system which is much more distributed than ours. They use tools, and they'll think about what they want to do with something even before they do it. But the octopus, which you've been chopping to pieces, is feeling pain every time you do it. Are there any ways, short of medical sedation, that one could reduce the amount of suffering while still eating an animal alive? Octopuses can feel pain, just like all animals. Octopus are being held down, cut up alive, and then served in sushi restaurants. We don’t yet know whether oysters feel pain, but if they do, they represent a very large number of suffering animals—a single meal might require the deaths of 12 or more oysters. If they stuck a shrimp on a block of ice until it's unreactive, it's probably less aware than it would be if you picked it out of the water and started chewing it from the tail up. Why is it that we almost universally condemn leaving a dog out in the rain or kicking a cat, but haven't yet decided whether slowly dismembering a sea creature is truly disagreeable? You can give an animal a quick and minimally painful death before you eat it—at the least, you can destroy the brain. Cultural live animal traditions. 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