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Journal of Animal Science, Vol 76, Issue 8 2072-2079, Copyright © 1998 by American Society of Animal Science

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Do domestic animals have minds and the ability to think? A provisional sample of opinions on the question

S. L. Davis and P. R. Cheeke
Department of Animal Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331, USA. daviss@ccmail.orst.edu

Faculty, staff, and graduate students in a number of departments, students in an undergraduate course, and some groups outside the university were polled to obtain their perceptions about whether domestic animals have minds, the ability to think, and differing degrees of intelligence (the surveys focused only on horses, cows, sheep, dogs, chickens, pigs, cats, and turkeys). A clear majority of all groups surveyed (except the Department of Zoology) said yes, they believe animals have minds, but a substantial number of those in animal sciences and zoology (17 to 25%) said no. A number of others in animal sciences, zoology, and philosophy (11 to 37%) refused to answer the question because the concept of mind was not defined. From 80 to 100% of respondents in other groups said yes to the question of minds. From 67 to 100% of all participants said yes, they perceive that animals have the ability to think, but a substantial number of animal scientists, zoologists, veterinarians, and English faculty said no, animals don't think (6 to 33%). On the question Do domestic animals differ in relative intelligence?, the responses varied from 88% in animal sciences to 100%. Surprisingly, when asked to rank different animal species by intelligence, there was a remarkable degree of similarity across all groups regardless of background; the overall ranking from highest intelligence to lowest was dog, cat, pig, horse, cow, sheep, chicken, and turkey. Most of the respondents believed that the possession of minds, thought, and intelligence were relevant factors in how animals should be treated and the prevalent concept was that we should not be cruel to animals, but should treat them humanely.


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C. R. Heleski, A. G. Mertig, and A. J. Zanella
Assessing attitudes toward farm animal welfare: A national survey of animal science faculty members
J Anim Sci, September 1, 2004; 82(9): 2806 - 2814.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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Copyright © 1998 by the American Society of Animal Science.