3R-Symposium: Pain Perception and Consciousness in Animals
3R-Symposium - Pain Perception and Consciousness in Animals
Is the concept of pathocentric animal welfare still relevant in 2024?
ICAR3R Symposium on April 25, 2024
09:00 AM - 01:30 PM
Online via Zoom
Summary: Research into the pain perception and suffering capability of animals is crucial for both science and animal welfare. The question of animal consciousness is closely linked to theories of pain perception.
Historical perspectives on animal sensory experiences have varied significantly. In the 17th century, René Descartes denied animals any form of consciousness or pain, describing them as mechanical automata in the dualistic tradition. In contrast, the French naturalist Buffon introduced the concept of animal sentience, proposing that animals possess consciousness and sensitivity. The diverse theories on animal consciousness and pain perception are further complicated by inconsistent and evolving definitions of "consciousness" and "pain." For instance, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) first published a definition of "pain" in 1979, which was revised in 2020 to describe pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage."
Despite significant advancements in understanding animal pain, many questions and debates remain across various disciplines. These include distinguishing between types of pain, understanding pain perception in different species, and the implications of these findings on animal use.
In this context, the ICAR3R Symposium aims to provide insights into the current state of research on pain and consciousness in animals.
The symposium will be accredited with 4 ATF hours and 4 continuing education hours (according to §3 Abs. 2 TierSchVersV) for all individuals involved in animal testing and the care of laboratory animals.
Registration is closed. The maximum number of participants has been reached, and no further access can be granted.
|
Time |
Speaker |
Topic |
|
09:00–9:15 |
Prof. Dr. Stephanie Krämer |
Welcome |
|
09:15–10:15 |
Prof. Dr. Andreas Draguhn |
"The Screaming Cabbage": Which Beings Can Suffer? |
|
10:15–11:15 |
Jennifer Simon |
What do suffering and pain in animals mean in the legal context? |
|
11:15–11:30 |
Break |
|
|
11:30–12:30 |
Dr. Judith Benz-Schwarzburg |
More than Just Capable of Suffering: What Empathetic Rats and Caring Cows Tell Us About the Limits of Our Research Ethics |
|
12:30–13:30 |
Priv. Doz. Dr. Thomas Fenzl |
An Unfinished Story: Neurophysiological Correlates of Pain Perception in the EEG of Chicken Embryos |
[1] International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). IASP Announces Revised Definition of Pain; https://www.iasp-pain.org/ publications/iasp-news/iasp-announces- revised-definition-of-pain (Stand: 27.02.2024)