Sheep might be dumb
... but they're not stupid
Studies
show that farmyard animals have a range
of emotions and a sharp intelligence
Mark
Townsend, environment correspondent
Sunday March 6, 2005
The Observer
Cursed
with a maddening cluck and a comic strut
that would put John Cleese to shame,
the chicken, headless or not, is thought
by many to be one of the world's daftest
animals. Yet new research reveals they
are in fact rather clever.
Evidence
that the humble hen can master complex
tricks that would make most dog owners
proud is among a wealth of research
to be unveiled at the largest conference
ever staged to investigate animal sentience.
The
findings, seen by The Observer, offer
compelling evidence that creatures caricatured
as mindlessly dumb can feel emotions
usually associated with humans, such
as jealousy, love and loss. Some are
crafty enough to hatch machiavellian
plots worthy of those who stalk the
corridors of Whitehall.
Sheep,
ridiculed for a non-questioning herd
mentality, possess a sharp sense of
individuality and can recognise the
faces of at least 10 people and 50 other
sheep for at least two years. Scientists
at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge
also discovered that sheep react to
facial expressions and, like humans,
prefer a smile to a grimace.
Further
studies which reinforce the notion that
sheep are more like us than previously
believed involved tests showing they
mourn absent individuals. Scientists
claim such findings are increasingly
challenging the belief that farmyard
animals have no 'sense of self', a notion
that could have profound implications
for the way Britain's creatures are
farmed.
Pigs
were similarly found to have a cerebral
capacity beyond the popular preconception
of a farm animal. Researchers at Bristol
University found that pigs are masters
of deceit, deliberately misleading other
pigs if it would result in more food
for themselves.
Chickens
command an extraordinary degree of self-control
over food. They are willing to delay
gratification if they think a larger
portion will be offered in due course.
Other
research that threatens the longevity
of the phrase 'headless chicken' found
that the creatures boast a greater sense
of spatial awareness than young children.
In tests, chickens could learn tricks
such as opening doors and navigating
mazes with a speed usually the preserve
of dogs and horses. These findings suggest
that the character of Ginger, the sharp-witted
chicken who leads her colleagues to
escape from a farm in the 2000 film
Chicken Run, may not be as ironic as
its makers intended.
The
results that may most perturb animal
welfare groups are those that suggest
chickens can feel pain. Tests found
that those known to be experiencing
some form of discomfort or lameness
chose food laced with morphine when
given the choice. By contrast, chickens
who were fully fit chose feed that was
not spiked with an analgesic.
Another
creature similarly viewed by modern
society as little more than a benign
food source - the cow - is also shown
to be an astute animal capable of solving
riddles with an intellect more traditionally
associated with an ape. Studies at Oxford
University found that Betty, a Caledonian
heifer, instinctively bent a piece of
wire, using a gap in her food tray to
create a hook that allowed her to scrape
food from the bottom of a jar.
Scores
of scientists and government delegates
from 43 countries will attend the London
conference in 10 days' time to discuss
whether society's attitude to animals
needs re-examining. They will also hear
how wood mice build their own signposts,
using sticks and stones to mark sites
where food is abundant or marking short-cuts
back to their burrow.
The
reputation of parrots as purveyors of
a broad vocabulary is also reinforced
with one study documenting how a grey
parrot mastered 1,000 words and learnt
to communicate in a manner that would
shame some British adults. Parrots have
an intellect comparable to a five-year-old
human, and the conference will hear
how potential parrot owners must weigh
up buying one as if they were adopting
a 'small child'.
The
conference comes at a time when the
food industry is being forced to address
mounting consumer concern over the structure
of Britain's food industry and factory
farming.
Among
those speaking are officials from McDonald's
and the World Bank's private sector
arm, whose responsibilities include
livestock investment. Leading theologians
will also argue that Christian and Islamic
faiths need to update their attitudes
towards animals by bestowing an intrinsic
value similar to that given to people.
Joyce
D'Silva, chief executive of animal welfare
group Compassion in World Farming Trust,
which is organising the two-day summit,
said: 'Government and business will
have to address animal sentience because
consumer concern about the treatment
of animals will increasingly influence
spending patterns in the coming decades.'
Tomorrow
a cross-party parliamentary group on
animal welfare will unveil its report
into the use of animals in the development
of vaccines for humans. The report,
which will reopen the debate on the
worth of vivisection, calls for the
urgent development of new ways of testing
vaccines without using animals. Currently
1.5 million animals are used in the
European Union each year in the development
of vaccines.
Not
just parrot fashion ...
Fish
are renowned for having a three-second
memory; however, evidence suggests they
can be highly manipulative and cultured.
Parrots,
when shown two different objects, can
use language to describe differences
in their colour, shape and texture.
Sheep
can carry the mental image of another
sheep or person for two years.
Chickens
feel intention and expectation and can
tell people apart.
Pigs
may use a sophisticated form of consciousness
to deceive other animals for greater
personal reward.
Elephants
make graves by breaking branches to
cover their dead colleagues. They have
a large hippocampus, the part of the
brain that stores mental maps.
